The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation published Tuesday, February 5 on its Facebook page, a new turtle death notice. Again, this death comes from a collision with a boat. "It's the third in two weeks !! Is indignant the association of the Dutch side.
French coast, the Nature Reserve had recalled during the report by its Dutch counterpart of the first death of the season: "collisions are one of the leading causes of mortality of sea turtles in St Martin". Marine turtles have been protected at international, national and regional level since the prefectural decree of 1991 on the territory of the Guadeloupe archipelago. “In 2017, seven reports of strandings or animals in distress were recorded by the local care network. These cases concerned three animals in distress and four dead individuals, mostly located off reserve (71% of reports). ” can we read in the report carried out by the Nature Reserve in 2017 and entitled: Marine turtles of Saint-Martin: monitoring of strandings and individuals in distress. (2017). According to this same report, the period of beginning and end of the year would be marked by an upsurge in reports, also coinciding with the peak of tourist activity and frequentation of coastal waters in Saint-Martin. Julien Chalifour, head of the scientific center of the Nature Reserve specifies: the figures only take into account the tiny part of the mortalities observed on the coast and what is more only those seen and reported. So this is only the tip of the iceberg ”.
Caution should be exercised and motor boat operators encouraged in both the Dutch and French parts to respect speed limits and navigation rules.
(More details on www.soualigapost.com)
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