Bahiret el Bibane is a large lagoon of around 33 km by 10 km near the Libyan border, which is separated from the sea by two peninsulas (Solb el-Gharbi and Solb ech-Charki) which almost meet. The Site also covers the coastal waters outside the lagoon, the smaller Bahar Alouane lagoon, and two “sebkhets” or salt flats. The lagoon is an important nursery for fish which grow in the rich waters of the lagoon and then go out to sea; it is famous throughout Tunisia for its fish production. A large traditional fish barrier with traps allows the fish to enter the lagoon to grow and later to leave. At 3.5 km long this is the longest such barrier in the Mediterranean. Bahiret El Bibane is also an important breeding and wintering site for water birds. It hosts wigeon (Anas penelope), northern pintail (Anas acuta), northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), common crane (Grus grus), Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata), several species of gull such as the Mediterranean gull (Ichthyaetus melanocephalus), little gull (Larus minutus) and black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus), as well as the Caspian tern (Sterna caspia).