 The islands of the gulf have been identified by BirdLife International as a 280 km2 Important Bird Area (IBA) because of their value as breeding sites for seabirds and for Eaton's pintails.Of the 20 islands and numerous islets included in the IBA, the largest is the 20 km2 Île Australia.Some of the islands are free of introduced species, but others are infested by rats, mice and rabbits.