Tench Island, also known as Enusi Island, is a small (55 ha), low-lying (17 m maximum height above sea level), coral island in the St Matthias Islands group in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. Administratively, it is part of New Ireland Province and lies about 100 km north of Kavieng, the provincial capital. It has a human population of about 100. A local language is Tenis, a nearly extinct language with 30 native speakers.
History
The island was named after British marine officer Watkin Tench in 1790 by Lieutenant Philip Gidley King. [1]
Important Bird Area
The island has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding populations of brown noddies (80,000 individuals) and black noddies (20,000 individuals), based on 1973 estimates. [2]
References
- ^ Parkinson, Richard (2010). Thirty Years in the South Seas: Land and People, Customs and Traditions in the Bismarck Archipelago and on the German Solomon Islands. Sydney: Sydney University Press. p. 151–153. ISBN 9781920899639.
- ^ "Tench Island". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
1°38′52″S 150°40′22″E / 1.64778°S 150.67278°E
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