In 2 BC, Augustus exiled Sempronius Gracchus, a lover of Julia the Elder, to the islands for 14 years for his indiscretions with his then-married daughter.

[11] It was proposed to locate the monastery built in 532 by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe on one of the islets of the group,[9] but it was more recently argued for an identification on the Kneiss island.

This is mainly due to its positioning in the Gulf of Gabes, with strong sea winds (Gharbi), carried over the mainland, making them hot and dry.

This causes the general ecology of the island to mainly consist of tall xerophytic (and often halophytic) flora, such as palms and saltbushes.

[15] In addition, the following 7 species that are mostly restricted to the Mediterranean North African biome see significant populations migrate through the Kerkennah (BirdLife conservation criteria A3): Barbary partridge Alectoris barbara, Moussier's redstart Phoenicurus moussieri, Western black-eared wheatear Oenantha hispanica, Sardinian warbler Sylvia melanocephalia, Eastern subalpine warbler Sylvia cantillans, spectacled warbler Sylvia conspicillata and the spotless starling sturnus unicolor.

[15] Finally, some species do not simply pass through but breed on Kerkenah, such as the common kestrel Falco tinnunculus, the cream-colored courser Cursorius cursor, the European bee-eater Merops apiaster and the Great grey shrike Lanius excubitor.

[15] Aside from these birds, the islands are also an important stop-over site each spring and autumn for hundreds of thousands of migrant passerines.