Disappointment Island has some interesting history, including a shipwreck which stranded sixteen people on it in 1907, and is part of the New Zealand Important Bird Area (IBA), which are locations determined by an internationally agreed set of criteria.
The island is part of the Auckland Island group Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because of the significance of the group as a breeding site for several species of seabirds as well as the endemic Auckland shag, Auckland teal, Auckland rail, and Auckland snipe. 
