The St. Maarten Nature Foundation Sea Turtle Watch Group, a group of citizens that are specifically trained to assist the Foundation in Sea Turtle Conservation, cleaned a large section of Simpson Bay Beach of the Sargasso Seaweed which has been plaguing the island.
Sargasso Weed plagued the Caribbean and St. Maarten in 2011 and 2012, with the Foundation having to warn swimmers to avoid swimming in Guana Bay and other beaches due to the large amount of Sargasso Weed and many beach front residences and hotels having to continuously clean washed up Sargasso. The resulting large influx of Sargasso Weed has been due to a suspected southward shift in the Gulf Stream, which has pushed the Sargasso Sea– an area of the Atlantic Ocean where Sargasso Weed is in thick concentration, south to our area.
Some ten members of the Sea Turtle Watch Group cleared the beach of the Sargasso seaweed in order to ensure that hatchling sea turtles can make their way safely to the ocean.
Sea turtles have existed for well over 180 million years, even before the dinosaurs. St. Maarten is one of the few places in the region that has a nesting population of sea turtles, so we should do all that we can to protect their nesting areas.
Sea turtle population numbers have plummeted to dangerously low numbers throughout the past century due to human impacts, bringing many species close to extinction and causing them to be listed as critically endangered. In order to reverse this trend, all sea turtle species are now protected by international laws and treaties as well as local laws. Based on ARTICLE 16 and 17 of the Nature Conservation Ordinance St. Maarten it is illegal to kill, wound, capture or pick-upsea turtles. It is also illegal to directly or indirectly disturb their environment resulting in a physical threat or damage or to commit other acts which result in disturbance of the animal. It is also forbidden to disturb, damage or destroy sea turtle nests, lairs, or breeding places. Also, it is forbidden to pick-up or to destroy the eggs of any species of sea turtle.
If you notice any nesting activity or are interested in joining the Sea Turtle Watch Group please call the Nature Foundation office at 5444267 or email the Foundation atinfo@naturerfoundationsxm.org.