Port aux Français

Port-aux-Français is a permanent French scientific station on Kerguelen Islands, a Subantarctic Crozet Archipelago in the South Indian Ocean. Also known as the Desolation Islands, the archipelago consists of 300 islands, islets, and reefs which lie between 48° to 50°S and 68° to 70°E, covering an area of 7,215 km² (2,786 mi²). Port-aux-Français is located at the eastern part of the archipelago in the Golfe du Morbihan, at few meters a.s.l. Several huts are distributed in the field as support facilities for scientists. In 2006, all the islands of the archipelago were listed as natural reserve. Access to some sites of Kerguelen Islands is consequently submitted to permits.

The Kerguelen Islands have been discovered in 1772 by the French sailor Yves Joseph Kerguelen de Trémarec. Several sealers and whalers visited the archipelago during the 19 and early 20th centuries and a whaling station was established at Port Jeanne d’Arc until the end of the 1920s. A permanent station for scientific researches was set up in 1949 and remained continuously opened from this period.

Kerguelen Islands belong to the Subantarctic biogeographical Province of the Southern Indian Ocean. Several plant and invertebrate species are endemic of this Province but only one plant species is known from Kerguelen only: Lyallia kerguelensis. Due to the proximity of the Antarctic convergence, birdlife and marine mammals are abundant. The climate is cold oceanic with rain or snow falling more than 300 days a year. The Cook ice cap covers a large part of the West side of the Grande Terre, but all the glaciers are rapidly retreating. Several non native species have been introduced in the past (rabbit, reindeer, cat, mouse, rat) and have a strong impact on the native biodiversity.

There is no permanent population on Kerguelen Islands and the number of staff and scientists vary from about 45 in winter up to 90-100 in summer. There is no economic or agronomic activity today in the archipelago itself (but fishing activities occur). Since 1992, the French Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) has operated a satellite tracking station.

Access to Port-aux-Français is only by ship. There are no natural ports or airstrips. The Marion Dufresne is the supply vessel operated by TAAF. It visits Kerguelen Islands 4 times per year, in April, August, November and December. The helicopter on board allows unloading equipment and disembarking passengers. The movement within the archipelago is ordinarily walk, sometimes with the support of a barge in the Golfe du Morbihan.