Man of War Shoal Marine Park

The Nature Foundation is the management authority for the Man of War Shoal Marine Park, the only protected marine area in Sint Maarten. Located south of Philipsburg, scuba divers are spoiled for choice with 3,100 hectares of natural coral formations, historical shipwrecks, and sunken artificial reefs. Within the park, you can find species of sharks, sea turtles, rays, thousands of reef fish, lobster, conch, and crabs. It also is a migratory stopover point for many marine mammals, including whales and dolphins.

To dive in the marine park without a dive club, each visitor must first purchase a diving tag, and vessel operators must register their boats. Learn more here.

Coordinate Boundaries

The boundaries of the marine park are comprised of four coordinates:

18° 00.0′ N -63° 04.5′ W 18° 00.0′ N -63° 01.3′ W
17° 57.0′ N -63° 04.5′ W 17° 57.0′ N -63° 01.3′ W

Within the boundary of the park, the following areas must remain open to shipping anytime:

To the left of 17° 58.55′ N -63° 04.5′ W & 18° 00.0′ N -63° 03.9′ W
To the right of 17° 58.55′ N -63° 01.3′ W & 18° 00.0′ N -63° 03.0′ W
To the south of 17° 58.4′ N -63° 04.5′ W & 17° 58.4′ N -63° 01.3′ W

History

The Man of War Shoal Marine Park was established on December 31, 2010 after years of negotiation to protect a significant marine zone in Sint Maarten through a Marine Park Ordinance. The designation of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) was a groundbreaking achievement for Sint Maarten as it became the country’s first legally protected area, and the final island in the Dutch Caribbean to establish an MPA. The mission of the marine park is to preserve and enhance the natural environment through management, education, awareness, research, and monitoring.

Conservation

The Man of War Shoal Marine Park is a sanctuary for dolphins, sea turtles, coral reefs, as well as a wide array of fishes that are protected by national, regional, and local legislation. As one of the first Dutch Caribbean islands to protect sharks, our local and migratory Caribbean reef, tiger, and nurse shark populations thrive within the marine park. It is also a breeding site for three IUCN Red List species, 10 CITES Appendix I species and 89 Appendix II species, and over 300 SPAW Protocol species. The conservation area allows for these species to live, forage, and breed without the direct threat of exploitation via fishing or trade.

Biodiversity

Studies conducted by the Nature Foundation indicate high levels of biodiversity and particularly high coral reef coverage within the park. Marine life includes stony and fan corals, reef fish, coral shrimp, spiny lobsters, sharks, eels, dolphins, seahorses, conch, urchins, sponges, and sea stars. With so much life, the Man of War Shoal Marine Park attracts thousands of visitors and is believed to contribute millions to the economy annually.

Habitats

The marine park is a small area that represents Sint Maarten’s immediate coastal area well. The crown jewel and diving focus remains its various coral reefs, which are dominated by prolific stony and fan corals. But lush seagrass meadows, open sand areas, and wide rocky bottoms are also prominent and surround the park. Collectively, these ecosystems provide vital habitats for a variety of species and life stages.

Research

The marine park serves as an excellent site for ongoing research initiatives, including annual coral reef monitoring and various grant-based projects focused on corals, sharks, fish, and urchins. Given the migratory nature of many animal species, the health of the marine park is likely directly tied to the health of populations researched on neighboring islands, including Anguilla, Saint-Barthelemy, Saba, and Sint Eustatius.

Regulations

As a sanctuary, the marine park affords protections to its wildlife from any fisheries, commercial shipping, unauthorized entry, and other forms of exploitation. These rules are put into place to protect the wildlife and habitats that provide sustenance for our local population, uplift our economy by drawing in visitors, and maintain the stability and health of our marine ecosystems.

Mooring

Vessels utilize dive moorings at their own risk. The Nature Foundation cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to vessels, or personal injuries obtained through the use of dive
moorings. Operators assume full responsibility for incidents at sea.
Vessels must be tied using a bowline that is fed through the loop of the floating line on the mooring and tied back onto the boat. Do not tie the floating line directly onto your boat. The boat’s bow line must be at least as long as your vessel or longer.
All vessels are required to have surface support of at least one (1) person capable of safely maneuvering the boat in the event of a mooring failure or other emergency.
Vessels must weigh fewer than 30 tons (27.2 tonnes) and measure less than 14 meters (46 feet) in overall length to utilize the mooring.
Anchoring anywhere within 50 meters (150 feet) of the mooring is strictly prohibited.
Only one boat is allowed on each mooring at a time, for a maximum stay of 2 hours.
Mooring use is observed on a first-come, first-served basis.
Vessels must display the ‘alpha’ flag at all times when divers are in the water. Passing boats must operate extremely slowly if approaching within 90 meters (300 feet) of an alpha flag.
All boats must adhere to applicable regulations and codes of conduct for boats operating in Sint Maarten with appropriate safety equipment.
All vessel operators should expect Nature Foundation staff to approach them at a safe distance at any time and for any reason.
Operators are obliged to contact the Nature Foundation upon encountering an at-risk, damaged, or missing mooring so repairs can be made quickly.
Vessels must be registered with the Nature Foundation for valid access until the end of the calendar year (e.g. registering in mid-June only permits validity until December). To register for the year, a fee of USD 250 per vessel must be paid to the Nature Foundation.

Diving

It is prohibited to feed, touch, harass, damage, or remove marine life, dead or alive.
Any type of fishing is prohibited within 50 meters (150 feet) of the mooring and completely prohibited in the marine park. The presence of weapons or fishing equipment of any kind are banned from this radius of the dive sites.
No exception for legal sling/pole spears, or spearguns with a permit.
No exception for lionfish hunting without written permission from the Nature Foundation.
Divers are expected to (a) avoid using gloves, except for holding onto mooring lines or entering wrecks, (b) maintain buoyancy control and avoid kneeling or standing on the bottom, (c) secure all gauges so that they cannot get caught on or drag along the bottom, (d) pass seaward of mooring buoys, and always steer clear of dive vessels.
Snorkelers are prohibited from using moorings even with the purchase of a dive tag; only scuba
divers and authorized free divers may utilize the dive sites.
It is prohibited to place, remove, or move buoys or moorings on any dive site, or within Sint Maarten’s territorial waters without written authorization from the Nature Foundation
Visitors must purchase a dive tag for each diver at sintmaarten.reefsupport.org. Dive shops can
purchase customer day tags in bulk by contacting the Nature Foundation.

Registration

In order to dive in Sint Maarten’s marine park and use our moorings, visitors must first register with us. Each user is required to purchase a dive tag through us unless going with a dive shop. Those interested in using their personal vessel to dive must fill out paperwork and pay an annual fee. Fees generated by visitation to the Marine Park help fund conservation research, maintain the moorings, and manage the protected area.

Sites

The Marine Park covers 31 km² (3,100 hectares or 7,660 acres). There are nine official dive spots located within the marine park ranging from depths of 10m (30ft) to 22m (70ft). Our most famous dive site, Proselyte Reef, is the site of a Spanish warship that sank in 1801. Many others are hotspots to see our local reef sharks, while Carib Cargo provides a fun wreck dive including abundant viewings of sea turtles.

Dive Site (* indicates within MPA)	Mooring Fee	Max Depth	Wreck/Reef
Cable Reef*		20m/65ft	Reef
Carib Cargo*	Yes	20m/65ft	Wreck
Charlie Shoal		9m/25ft	Reef
Cow and Calf		15m/50ft	Reef
Cow Boy Reef		10m/30ft	Reef/various wrecks
Coralita*	Yes	15m/50ft	Reef
Fish Bowl*	Yes	18m/60ft	Reef
Fort Amsterdam		10m/30ft	Wreck/Reef
Frenchman’s Reef	Yes	9m/25ft	Reef
Fuh Sheng		34m/110ft	Wreck
Hen and Chicks		15m/50ft	Reef
Isabella Reef		28m/90ft	Wreck/Reef
Long Bay		17m/55ft	Reef
Lucy’s Barge*	Yes	17m/55ft	Wreck
Mike’s Maze*	Yes	15m/50ft	Reef
Molly Beday		15m/50ft	Reef
Moonhole		18m/60ft	Reef
Moonscape		10m/30ft	Reef
One Step and Beyond		22m/70ft	Reef
Pelican Rock		15m/50ft	Reef
Porpoise		28m/90ft	Wreck
Proselyte*	Yes	15m/50ft	Wreck/Reef
Shark Hotel / Big Mama's Reef*	Yes	18m/60ft	Reef
Teigland*	Yes	22m/70ft	Wreck/Reef
The Bridge	Yes	15m/50ft	Wreck
The Gregory	Yes	17m/55ft	Wreck/Reef