Somerset Long Bay Pond

Somerset Long Bay Pond

Country:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Overseas territories)
Site number:
985
Area:
1.1 ha
Designation date:
11-05-1999
Coordinates:
32°18'12"N 64°52'19"W
  • BAS members planting endemic trees at SLBW
  • The edge of SLBW pond after clearing invasive plants
  • Mangrove islet, pond edge and the sea beyond at Somerset Long Bay West
  • Newly planted endemic trees along the edge of Somerset Long Bay Pond

Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.


The Site is a former tidal swamp that has been restored into a brackish/freshwater pond with mangrove-fringed islets behind a sandy beach. The edge of the pond is also covered by both black and red mangroves. It supports an internationally important population of the Bermuda killifish (Fundulus bermudae), an endangered species that is endemic to the Bermudian archipelago. Somerset Long Bay Pond is often the first resting place in the Caribbean of birds migrating southwards along the east coast of North America. The dense vegetation of the mangroves fringing the pond, and the protection from predators afforded by the isolated islets in the pond, make the Site an excellent sanctuary for them. The Site provides protection against tidal erosion and flooding, is regularly used by local and visiting birdwatchers, and serves as an educational resource, while the beach area is used for recreation. The most significant threat is from invasive non-native species.

Administrative region: Bermuda

National legal designation:
  • Nature Reserve held under the Bermuda Audubon Society Act (1960) - Somerset Long Bay Nature Reserve (West)
Last publication date: 22-12-2023
Ramsar Information Sheet (RIS)