Desroches Island

The island was named Île des Roches in 1771 by La Biolière, captain of the French ship Étoile du Matin, in honour of François Julien des Roches, Governor of Île de France (now Mauritius) and Île Bourbon (now Réunion) from 1767 to 1772.Carpin, Sarah,(1998) Seychelles, Odyssey Guides, p.159, The Guidebook Company Limited, Retrieved on June 22, 2008

It was explored by the Chevalier de la Billioère in 1771.[https://books.google.com/books?id=IJE9AAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA210 History of seychelles] The British had originally named it Wood Island because of its dense tree vegetation. The island was an important producer of copra.

in 1835 the first settlement was established[https://web.archive.org/web/20090918194603/http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/duffy/arb/136/v136.pdf Research on island]{{Cite web |url=http://www.idc.sc/index.php/Desroches-Island/history.html |title=History from IDC site |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413201358/http://www.idc.sc/index.php/Desroches-Island/history.html |archive-date=2016-04-13 |url-status=dead }} Along with the remaining Amirante Islands, Desroches had been a part of the Seychelles since it became a separate colony in 1909. On 8 November 1965 the United Kingdom split Desroches from the Seychelles to become part of the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory together with Farquhar, Aldabra and the Chagos Archipelago, but returned it to the Seychelles with the first two. The purpose was to allow the construction of a military base for the mutual benefit of the United Kingdom and the United States. On 23 June 1976 Desroches was returned to Seychelles as a result of it attaining independence. In 1972, a tourist lodge was built on the island, on Lodge Beach. In 1988, the Lodge changed hands to MK resorts which renovated it to a Luxury resort with 20 rooms.{{Cite web |url=http://www.stgt.com/seychelles/html/desroches.htm |title=information on the resort during MK era |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-date=2015-07-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712230603/http://www.stgt.com/seychelles/html/desroches.htm |url-status=dead }} In 2005, the resort was sold to Collins Properties{{Cite web|url=http://www.seychelles.travel/en/newsletter/161-e-newsletter-issue-11-11/hotels-11-161/3245-resorts-on-alphonse-and-desroches-islands-under-new-management-from-1st-september-2005-resorts-on-alphonse-and-desroches-islands-under-new-management-from-1st-september-2005|title = Seychelles Travel - Official Tourism Website of the Seychelles}} which renovated it and added a spa.{{Cite web |url=http://www.seychelles.org/outer-islands/amirantes-islands |title=information of resort during LUX era |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-date=2020-11-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126085427/http://www.seychelles.org/outer-islands/amirantes-islands |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.guidaseychelles.it/Desroches.asp |title=Desroches LUX resort 1 |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319150209/http://www.guidaseychelles.it/Desroches.asp |archive-date=2012-03-19 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.seychelles.org/hotels/desroches-island-resort |title=Desroches LUX resort 2 |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-date=2016-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420021254/http://www.seychelles.org/hotels/desroches-island-resort |url-status=dead }}

In 2008 Island Conservation Society opened a Conservation Centre at Desroches. Turtle monitoring, bird monitoring and island rehabilitation projects were implemented and an endowment fund established to provide funds to protect the environment.[http://www.islandconservationseychelles.com/desroches.html foundation website]

The LUX managed resort was expanded to 60 rooms in 2008,[https://www.expertafrica.com/seychelles/desroches-island Desroches LUX resort 3] and in 2016 the resort was sold to Four Seasons hotels which contract ends in December 2024 and the old owner a Swiss industrial family already owning the North Island will take over.{{Cite web|url=http://www.desrochesvillasales.com/sales/seychelles-real-estate|title=Desroches Island Villa Sales - Investment Details|access-date=2016-04-05|archive-date=2016-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514031922/http://www.desrochesvillasales.com/sales/seychelles-real-estate|url-status=dead}}

Four Seasons are adding more rooms in Lodge beach, but the Madame Zabre Beach units are sold as residential buildings, and a new neighborhood will be formed in this area by 2017.{{Cite web |url=http://seychellesinvest.com/uploads/presentations/Mr.ChristianLionnet-MluhRealEstateDevelopment.pdf |title=New Collins residential area |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415220242/http://seychellesinvest.com/uploads/presentations/Mr.ChristianLionnet-MluhRealEstateDevelopment.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-15 |url-status=dead }}[http://www.marcopolo.tv/articoli/desroches-guida-seychelles/ info on the resort]

It is located {{convert|36|km|0|abbr=on}} east of the Amirantes Bank, and separated from it by water over {{convert|1300|m|0|abbr=out}} deep. It lies on the southern edge of a reef of atoll character. At the northern edge of the atoll are the Shark Rocks, with least depths between {{convert|3|and|6|m|0|abbr=on}}. The island is fringed by a drying reef which extends {{convert|1.6|km|1|abbr=on}} offshore from the northeastern extremity and {{convert|0.8|km|1|abbr=on}} from the southwestern extremity. The island is low and is covered with coconut palms and tall hardwood trees. A deep channel, about {{convert|1.6|km|1|abbr=on}} wide, leads into the lagoon. The least depth in the channel is {{convert|18.3|m|0|abbr=on}}, and it crosses the atoll in a position about {{convert|11|km|0|abbr=on}} northwest of Desroches.

Desroches has a population of about 100. The Collins group hotel formerly had 30 rooms in the south (former location of Desroches Island Resort), built in 1988, and 1 presidential villa at Madame Zabre Beach.{{Cite web|url=https://wolfganghthome.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/one-of-the-seychelles-most-fancied-islands-changes-hands/|title = One of the Seychelles most fancied islands changes hands|date = June 2015}}

There is a lighthouse on the northeast end, at Helene point, of the Desroches Island.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120508084147/http://msi.nga.mil/MSISiteContent/StaticFiles/NAV_PUBS/SD/Pub171/Pub171bk.pdf 2010 Sailing directions]

The island belongs to Outer Islands District.[https://web.archive.org/web/20081115125037/http://www.virtualseychelles.sc/downloads/pdf/electoral_districts.pdf District map] Being an island with a small population, there are not any government buildings or services. For many services, people have to go to Victoria, which is a difficult task.

The island is bisected by a {{convert|1372|m|0|abbr=out|adj=on}} long paved airstrip in the southern part (IATA code DES, ICAO code FSDA). The island has regular service aircraft from Mahé.{{Cite web |url=http://www.zilair.com/desroches.php |title=schedule1 |access-date=2016-04-05 |archive-date=2016-06-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160627192848/http://www.zilair.com/desroches.php |url-status=dead }}

The inhabitants of the island engage mainly in tourism, and in small scale farming and fishing which are mainly for local consumption.

In 2007, Island Conservation Society opened a conservation center on the island, employing full-time staff. There are no endemic land birds, only introduced species. Around the hotel and village there are populations of house sparrows and zebra doves and in the woods Madagascar fodies and the more retiring grey francolin. Much of the island is covered in coconut trees but well-wooded pockets of forest remain. The long, encircling beach and beach-crest of Desroches are of national importance for both green turtle and hawksbill turtle, particularly on the south and northeast coasts. The only known endemic of the Amirantes, a species of cockroach Delosia ornata, is found here.

Small numbers of wedge-tailed shearwaters breed despite the presence of rats.

File:Seychelles large map.jpg|Map 1

File:Outer Islands in Seychelles.svg|District Map

File:Desroches.jpg|Desroches Island
from the southwest

File:Desroches_ISS022.jpg|Sat image

File:Desroches_76.png|1976 map

File:Desroches beach (Pietervisser) 02.jpg|A beach on the western side of the island

File:Reims-Cessna F406 Caravan II, Islands Development Company JP9861.jpg|Cessna airplane on the island

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{{Commons category|Desroches Island|Desroches Island (Île Desroches)}}

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• [http://www.seychelles.travel/en/discover/the-islands/outer-islands/74-discover/the-islands/outer-islands/3013-desroches Island guide 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105155218/http://www.seychelles.travel/en/discover/the-islands/outer-islands/74-discover/the-islands/outer-islands/3013-desroches |date=2018-01-05 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120505111145/http://www.nbs.gov.sc/archives/551 National Bureau of Statistics]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121011165732/http://www.desroches-island.com/ Desroches Island Resort]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090504112808/http://www.helicopterseychelles.com/desroches+hideaways+2008.html An Article on the Desroches Island Resort] - a Hideaways article about the resort at Desroches.

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Category:Islands of Outer Islands (Seychelles)

Category:Former islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory

Category:Atolls of Seychelles