La Réserve naturelle de Saint-Martin est une aire marine protégée de 30km2 située au nord-est de l’île de Saint-Martin. Créé en 1998, cet espace préserve les cinq principaux écosystèmes de l’île : récifs coralliens, mangroves, herbiers de phanérogames, étangs et forêt sèche littorale.
The Réserve Naturelle won the call for projects launched by the French Office For Biodiversity (OFB), for the resilience of coral reefs and their associated ecosystems (seagrass beds and mangroves). Baptized ReCorEA, this project aims to reduce the pressure put on these three coastal ecosystems. The project proposed by the Réserve Naturelle desires to evaluate and limit the impact created by the restoration of the...+ infos
As part of the Life BIODIV’OM, a close collaboration between the group for the study and protection of birds in French Guiana (GEPOG) and the management of the Réserve Naturelle de Saint Martin, for the emergence of efficient solutions for the conservation of the giant grouper. Based on discussions and distance learning, as well as the arrival of an employee of GEPOG in Saint Martin, AGRNSM benefits from feedback from French Guiana...+ infos
The second seminar for the Life BIODIV’OM project was held in French Guiana on September 19-23, 2022, on the theme of territorial dialogue and participatory sciences. All of the partners and beneficiaries of Life BIODIV’OM were present... except Aude Berger and Vincent Oliva, stuck in Saint Martin due to delays in air traffic due to uncertain weather. Luckily, they were both able to participate via video conference...+ infos
On December 1, the steering committee for the Life BIODIV’OM project met once again in the offices of the Réserve Naturelle at Hope Estate. These scientific experts were informed on the progress of the project’s activities, before validating the established strategy. The goal of this consultative committee is to evaluate the approach and results of the activities developed by AGRNSM in Saint Martin, in order to propose solutions adapted on a...+ infos
From December 7-9, Delphine Morin, coordinator of the Life BIODIV’OM for the LPO (League for the Protection of Birds) met with the Réserve Naturelle. This visit was an opportunity for the LPO to observe the situation on the island and make a report on recent activities, as well as discuss with the management team the eventuality of a request to prolong the Life BIODIV’OM in Europe, as solicited by the other partners of the project, except the AGRNSM....+ infos
A recap of activities financially supported by the Foundation of France in Saint Martin— including restauration of mangrove nursery along the edge of the Salines d’Orient pond — took place on October 27, 2022. This presentation provided an opportunity for the Réserve Naturelle to announce its progress on the Biodiversity Nursery Project. Part of the nursery was created by the Réserve to reclaim the natural areas and restore the wetlands badly...+ infos
The 2022 report on the activities of sea turtles has been completed as their egg-laying season closed on December 1, 2022. Thanks to 331 readers on the mailing list, of which 38 are very active, there were close to 500 patrols along 15 beaches on the French side, which yielded 182 traces of egg-laying activity between March and November. This marks a decrease in such activity compared to the 2021 report with 268 traces. This slight decline can be explained...+ infos
The project to battle the proliferation of rats on the small island of Tintamarre continues. Part of Plan France Relance, this operation against exotic invasive species placed 150 baited traps in June 2022, covering one third of the island. The advantage of the rat traps used it that they are automated and kill the rodents immediately. In the past, the traps required two visits per day to kill one captured animal: a very time-...+ infos
known and certain species benefit from regular scientific monitoring, the same is not true for the rest of the island. It is to fill this gap that Vincent Lemoine, a naturalist fascinated by ornithology, has covered the entire French side, binoculars in hand. Commissioned by the LPO for the LIFE BIODIV’OM program as part of the ZICO (Zone of interest for the protection of birds), his goal for this project was to create a map of the species...+ infos
The Réserve Naturelle participated in a commissioned study by the OFB staff at the Agoa sanctuary on the interaction between professional fishing and marine mammals within the Agoa sanctuary. A case based on the fact that marine mammals get tangled up on lines and cords of a fish aggregating device. After the inquiry, it looks as if the local techniques used around Saint Martin involve no, or few, interactions,...+ infos
Managing The Impact Of Human Activities In Protected Areas
The nature police department of the Réserve Naturelle— represented by Christophe Joe—completed nine patrols at sea, working jointly with the nautical brigade of the gendarmerie, between October and December 2022. Numerous controls of boats, at sea and on moorings, revealed the presence at Tintamarre of three boats belonging to rental companies that forgot to request authorization from the Réserve. Another vessel was given a warning for speeding. And a...+ infos
In light of its final report for 2022, the Education Department can be proud of its continued growth in academic activities and public awareness. Sixteen schools, three training centers, three businesses, and eight associations, or a total 7,243 children and adults, benefitted from their awareness activities on site or in the field last year. Victim of its own success, the department had...+ infos
When invited to share its pedagogical mission with several of its partners, the Réserve Naturelle always replies positively.
On November 2, 3, and 4, 2022, during the Toussaint vacation, 187 enfants from the ages of 7 to 12, from the neighborhoods of Sandy Ground, Concordia, and French Quarter, had the change to discover the island of Pinel and take part in various sports activities....+ infos
On November 16, 2022, 54 kids from under-privileged neighborhoods participated in Sea Discovery Day, which has been organized for several years by Métimer, the association for nautical professionals. This event allows the kids to discover sailing and the little island of Tintamarre, where Ashley Daniel and Brenton Larmonie, both on the staff of the Réserve Naturelle, taught them about the fragility of the eco-systems during a hike along the coast and on the...+ infos
In 2022, Happy School, recently named an Educational Marine Zone, continued its project for the protection of sea turtles, via a public awareness campaign about the threats created by human activity. At the same time, the school started a study of coral reefs, which gave some of the students an opportunity to take their first underwater dive. These two projects, as well as their ongoing work for the protection of sea turtles—notably with...+ infos
also now an Educational Marine Zone for the 2022/2023 school year. Their project is to revitalize the mangrove at Galion, by replanting saplings they will grow in their classroom, and others that were grown in the nursery within the Réserve Naturelle.
part of the Educational Marine Zone at Galion for the past six years, are working on a diagnostic of the...+ infos
A partnership agreement with the EDF Foundation, for the sum of 11,000 euros, will allow the Réserve to enrich its pedagogical materials concerning the marine milieu in Saint Martin. New anatomical sculptures of sea birds will join the existing menagerie and new films for the 360° virtual reality dive masks will multiply the possibilities of discovering the underwater world without getting wet, building on the huge success of this program. The...+ infos
In mid-September 2022, the Récréafish study, commissioned by the OFB, and run by IFREMER with the reserves of Saint Martin and Saint Barth, has concluded. At the end of the study, 50 excursions at sea were reported by recreational fishermen in Saint Barthélemy, compared to four in Saint Martin. For the nine contributors in Saint Barth and three in Saint Martin, this study coincided with unfavorable weather conditions on many occasions in 2022....+ infos
Late September was the occasion for the consulting firm, ARDOPS Environnement, to complete an inventory of herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) in Saint Martin. The goal was to consolidate the list of species present on the island, to localize the different species and define their status—indigenous or introduced—but also to identify the issues involved in the fight to regulation invasive species: Iguana iguana, red-footed tortoise, certain lizards—such...+ infos
On December 2, 2022, in the presence of expert Puerto Rican biologist Franklin Axelrod, Julien Chalifour went to the Lowlands to explore an undeveloped tract of land. Identified by the naturalist association, Bivouac, during their Insularis 1 expedition, this site has been of interest for the plants found there, as well as for its herpetofauna. This visit revealed a wide diversity of plants endemic to the Anguilla Bank, or strictly to Saint...+ infos
In early December 2022, the Réserve Naturelle hosted two scientists who specialize in coral. They are members of the PACO mission (Coral Adaptive Potential) to support coral reefs in the French West Indies and Mayotte. Their objective was to take samples from three species of coral, two of which are protected, in order to study their genetic diversity as well as the diversity of their growing conditions, with the goal of identifying the specific...+ infos
Collaboration between reserves
Like every year, the Réserve Naturelle’s team of deep-sea divers lent a hand to their colleagues in Petite Terre (Guadeloupe) and Saint-Barthélemy, as part of their annual check-up on the health of the coral communities and underwater seagrass beds. Aude Berger visited in Petite Terre from October 3-6, 2022 and Julien Chalifour was in Saint-Barth on October 17-21, 2022. This allowed them to count numbers of fish, estimate the extent of coral formations,...+ infos
From November 14-18, Aude Berger and Julien Chalifour participated in a national symposium on sea turtles, organized at the Grande Motte. They were both able to meet their counterparts on a national level, as well as highlight the work done since 2009 and share common problems and the solutions developed by each of them. The large quantities of consecutive data has an important impact on the production of information about the Antilles islands and will...+ infos
Every year for quite some time, and throughout the year, the Réserve Naturelle de Saint Martin has participated in various meetings, steering committees, and technical committees on a national level for the protection of the sea turtles of the French West Indies and the iguana of the Lesser Antilles. These meetings allow the Réserve to participate in activities led by the ONF (French National Forests Office) and commissioned by the DEAL (Direction for the...+ infos
Responsable du pôle police de la nature et logistique, assermenté. Tel : 0690 57 95 55
Responsable administrative.
Responsable du pôle scientifique, assermenté
Tel : 0690 34 77 10
Responsable du Pôle Education à l’environnement, assermenté.
Tel :0690 53 59 01
Garde animateur et technique, assermenté
Garde animateur et technique,
Chef de projet LIFE BIODIV'OM - Pôle scientifique .
Lot 11 et 13 Rue Barbuda, Hope Estate, 97150 Saint Martin
Gestion : +59 0690 889 909
Police : +59 0690 579 555
Science : +59 0690 347 710
Education : +59 0690 53 59 01
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