The northern and smaller island takes its name from the French word bijoutier, meaning "jeweller".

Some sources (giving the incorrect date for the visit) claim it was to commemorate the religious feast of St Francis de Sales of 29 January.

A feature of St. François Atoll is the number of shipwrecks, standing as grim reminders of the perils of the sea.

St. François island once supported a population of a handful of men engaged in harvesting coconuts but the plantation was never productive.

A small colony of tropical shearwater was rediscovered in 2013, the first confirmed breeding record since the 1950s.

Seychelles’ largest concentrations of Eurasian whimbrel, ruddy turnstone and grey plover have also been recorded here.