The Dyer Island Nature Reserve Complex is a protected area off the coast of Gansbaai in the Western Cape, South Africa. It consists of three islets, namely Dyer Island; Geyser Island; and Quoin Rock, that lie away from Dyer Island, off the coast of Quoin Point Nature Reserve and Agulhas National Park.
Combined, Dyer Island and Geyser Island are a designated Ramsar site.
Dyer Island is the largest in the group of islands, and lies about offshore from Gansbaai and Danger Point Lighthouse. It is home to a declining colony of African penguins (≈ 5000 individuals in 2015). Geyser Island is a smaller island nearby and is home to around 60,000 brown fur seals.
The shallow channel between the two islands is popularly known as Shark Alley.
The reserve cannot be accessed by the general public.
History The original name of Dyer Island was (Island of wild creatures), so named by Portuguese seafarers in the 15th century.
It is named after Samson Dyer, an emigrant from the US to the Cape Colony in 1806, who lived on the island collecting guano, which he sold to mainlanders as fertiliser.
In 1988, the two islands were named individually as Provincial Nature Reserves. And in 2019, the two islands were designated as a Ramsar site.
Biodiversity
The reserve is home to a number of threatened species. It is home to 48 bird species, of which 21 species breed here. There are 26 species of fish found in the surrounding waters, including the endangered Galjoen.
Birds
African penguin African oystercatcher Antarctic tern Arctic tern Bank cormorant Cape cormorant Caspian tern Common tern Crowned cormorant Greater crested tern Hartlaub’s gull Leach’s storm petrel Roseate tern Sandwich tern White-breasted cormorant
Fish
Galjoen Great white shark
Mammals
Cape fur seal
References