Between 8 and 28 January 1998, a waterbird census of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands was carried out within the framework of the 1998 Tanzania Waterbird Count. The main result of the waterbird census of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands was the number counted of Dramas ardeola (Crab Plover): a total of 6,017 was found, 4,258 on Zanzibar Island and 1,759 on Pemba. The total number present must have been much higher, because only less than half of Pemba was visited. The most numerous species on the Islands was Calidris ferruginea (Curlew Sandpiper) with a total of 10,640.