Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin

This action, defined as part of the management plan, will take place thanks to financing from the French Office For Biodiversity (OFB). The consulting firm, AquaSearch, will participate in 2020 as part of a new project to update the cartography displaying the underwater habitats within the Réserve Naturelle, and especially the essential habitats for sea turtles, namely the underwater sea grass beds for green turtles and the reefs for hawksbill turtles. The current maps were part of the management plan for 2010–2015, but date from 2007.+ infos

Cooperation between reserves

Since 2007, the Réserve Naturelle has conducted its annual scientific study of the reefs and underwater plant beds. In 2019, this took place on September 9-12, with the support of a representative from the Réserve Guadeloupéenne de Petite-Terre. He came to help the staff in Saint Martin document the evolution of the overall health of the coral communities and sea grass beds, at stations both in and outside of the perimeters of the Réserve. This year, this ongoing study was complemented by a study of groupers, as part of the LIFE program, on four of the eight sites that were observed. These sites will be the focus of a bi-annual study, until the...+ infos

Listening to marine mammals

The managers of the protected marine areas in the Caribbean met in the Dominican Republic on October 30-November 4 2019, at the invitation of Cari’Mam (see inset). A majority of the meeting was a discussion of the project to install 20 under- water acoustic beacons throughout the Antilles archipelago from Trinidad to Bermuda. These submerged beacons will record the songs of marine mammals within an area of 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) during one minute, followed by a pause of four minutes in order to extend battery life. The beacon specific to Saint Martin was put into place during the first week of January, 2020, outside of the Réserve Naturelle,...+ infos

Study the birds to better understand them

To better understand the avifauna of the French West Indies: that is one of the goals of the French Office For Biodiversity (OFB), which encompasses the French Agency for Biodiversity (AFB) and National Office For Hunting And Wildlife, as of January 1, 2020. One of the ways to improve our knowledge about these birds is by banding them, and the OFB organized a training program on March 9-13 2020 in Guadeloupe. Focused primarily on the banding of shore birds, this training was important for Saint Martin, an island where the salt ponds have numerous and diverse avifauna. Led by two specialized ornithologists from the French National...+ infos

Creation of a mangrove nursery

The Réserve Naturelle has obtained authorization from the Collectivity to create a mangrove nursery, the goal being to replant mangrove seedlings in the ponds where the vegetation was decimated by hurricane Irma. Funding from the Rotary Club makes this possible. The project team collects seeds, pods, and seedlings in the field and works day after day to grow them in structures they build themselves. The seedlings are places in biodegradable pots made of sugar cane fiber, then placed in the silt where they can further develop.+ infos

Saint Martin at the heart of a strategic document

On November 5, the Réserve hosted a technical atelier in its offices, which was led by the French Agency for Biodiversity (AFB), the local representative of the Direction de la Mer and its local agent, ImpacMer. The idea was to collect the necessary elements to edit a strategic document for the maritime zone of the French West Indies, including Saint Martin. The Saint Martin port authority was present, alongside the Direction de la Mer, DEAL, the Collectivity of Saint Martin, and Métimer, the association of nautical professionals. The challenge was to define the existing uses and pressures put on the zone and localize them. The...+ infos