St. Brandon

Saint Brandon

Native name: Cargados Carajos
Saint Brandon highlighted with a red circle in Mauritius
Geography
Location	Indian Ocean
Coordinates	16°35′S 59°37′E / 16.583°S 59.617°E / -16.583; 59.617
Archipelago	Cargados Carajos
Total islands	22
Major islands	Albatross Island, Raphaël, Avocaré Island, L'Île Coco and L'île du Sud
Area	1.3 km2 (0.50 sq mi)
Administration
Mauritius
Largest settlement	Île Raphaël (pop. 30)
Demographics
Population	40 (2022)
Pop. density	48/km2 (124/sq mi)

Saint Brandon (French: Saint-Brandon), also known as the Cargados Carajos Shoals, is a southwest Indian Ocean archipelago of sand banks, shoals and islets belonging to the Republic of Mauritius. It lies about 430 km (270 mi) northeast of the island of Mauritius. It consists of five island groups, with about 28-40 islands and islets in total, depending on seasonal storms and related sand movements.^[1]

The archipelago is low-lying and is prone to substantial submersion in severe weather, but also by annual tropical cyclones in the Mascarene Islands. It has an aggregate land area estimated variously at 1.3 km² (0.50 sq mi) and 200 ha (500 acres).^[1] The islands have a small resident population of around 60 fishermen working for the Raphael Fishing Company.^[2] The bulk of this population, approximately 40 people, reside on Île Raphael, with smaller settlements existing on Avocaré Island, L'Île Coco, and L'île du Sud.

In the early 19th century, most of the islands were used as fishing stations. Today, only one resident fishing company operates on the archipelago with three fishing stations and accommodation for fly fishermen on L'île du Sud, Île Raphael and L'Île Coco. The isolated Albatross Island reverted to the State of Mauritius in May 1992 and has since been abandoned.^[3] Thirteen of the thirty islands were subject to a legal challenge from 1995 until 2008 between a certain Mr. Talbot (acting with the government) and the Raphael Fishing Company, this being resolved by Mauritius's highest Court of Appeal in 2008^[4] which converted the erstwhile permanent lease into a permanent grant for the resident fishing company.^[5]

As is common amongst small, remote islands, the fauna and flora display a high degree of endemism which attracts visitors and international conservationists because of the critical role these remote islands play in the conservation of endangered species. The endangered green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) nests here as does the critically endangered Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) which may be unique to the extent that they are eventually confirmed as being genetically different from those further north in the Chagos islands and the Seychelles.

The islands, designated a Key Biodiversity Area under CEPF, are also instrumental in the preservation of many bird species that are either vulnerable or near-threatened and were recommended as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) by the World Bank (1998). The World Bank's management plan was accepted, with a few changes, at Mauritian ministry level in its "Blue Print for the Management of St. Brandon" in 2002 and thereafter approved by the government of Mauritius in 2004.^[6]