| Sherbro Island, Sierra Leone | |
|---|---|
| Country | Sierra Leone |
| Province | Southern Province |
| District | Bonthe District |
| Population (2008 estimate) | |
| • Total | 44,991 |
| Time zone | Greenwich Mean Time (UTC±0) |
Sherbro Island, is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, located in Bonthe District off the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. The Sherbro make up by far the largest ethnic group in the island.
The island is separated from the African mainland by the Sherbro River in the north and the Sherbro Strait in the east.
It is 32 miles (51 km) long and up to 15 miles (24 km) wide, covering an area of approximately 230 square miles (600 km2). The western extremity is Cape St. Ann.
Bonthe, on the eastern end, is the chief port and commercial centre.
The island has over 65 miles (105 km) of tropical beaches and has been earmarked by the Ministry for Tourism and Development of Sierra Leone for tourism development.
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Swamp-rice cultivation, tourism and fishing are the main economic activities.
Sherbro Island is the site of an early 19th-century British post against the slave trade.
The island was acquired from the Sherbro people by the colony at Freetown in 1861.
In 1815 Paul Cuffe settled a group of 88 freed slaves on Sherbro Island.
The island was also surveyed by Samuel John Mills and Ebenezer Burgess at the behest of the American Colonization Society. This survey led to the passing of an act by the U.S. Congress on March 3, 1819, authorizing the return of freed blacks slaves to their "motherland".
The ACS group of freed slaves arrived at Sherbro Island in 1821 before being driven by circumstance to Providence Island at Cape Mesurado in present day Liberia in April 1822.
Sherbro Island is believed to be a breeding ground for green sea turtles as well as leatherback sea turtles.[1] Also the water surrounding the island, holds some of the biggest tarpon in the world, some records at sportfishing organisation IGFA comes from this area.
In 1974 population stood at 18,991.