Protecting the Natural Areas of St. Maarten
After the Nature Foundation St Maarten recently established the presence of ‘Tissue Loss Disease’ on several local coral reefs in October 2018, a more elaborate research study by the Nature Foundation established on average a 60% infection and mortality rate of the most susceptible stony corals in the Marine Park ‘Man of War Shoal’.
The Nature Foundation has been monitoring the impact of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease on St Maarten coral reefs since it was first discovered in October 2018. Recently, a more elaborate research from the Nature Foundation established on average a 60% infection and mortality rate of the most susceptible stony corals in the Marine … Continue reading Nature Foundation Researches the Immense Impact of Coral Disease on St Maarten Reefs.
The Nature Foundation St Maarten recently established the presence of ‘Tissue Loss Disease’ on several local coral reefs, the Foundation was able to establish through further investigation that in many locations some 90% of coral is either infected or dead. The disease is a relatively new issue that has been plaguing coral reefs in the … Continue reading St. Maarten’s Coral Reefs Are Dying Due to Disease, Poor Wastewater Infrastructure
Last Friday the Nature Foundation St Maarten organized a beach clean-up session for students from the Leonald Connor Primary School which took place at Mullet Bay beach. About 25 students collected over 250 pounds of trash in just half an hour. The students learned about the impact of single-use plastics on our environment, marine life … Continue reading Leonald Connor Primary School Students Clean up Mullet Bay Beach and learn about Coral Reefs with the Nature Foundation St Maarten
The Nature Foundation St Maarten has recently established the presence of ‘Tissue Loss Disease’ on several local coral reefs. The disease is a relatively new issue that has been plaguing coral reefs in the Atlantic Basin for the last few months.
November 6th, 2018 Cole Bay, Sint Maarten - Intelligent reefs powered by nature have been installed at three sites in St. Maarten in a continuing effort to restore marine bio-diversity habitats devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Scientists, filmmakers, photographers, creatives, and leaders from the eco-tourism industry assisted the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation with its mission to … Continue reading Caribbean-wide “Plant a Million Coral” Initiative Launched on Sint Maarten
During its annual Coral Reef Monitoring activities the Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has recorded incidents of coral bleaching both inside and outside of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area. The Foundation started it's monitoring dives on Tuesday and discovered numerous coral colonies showing signs of coral bleaching. Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel algae that live … Continue reading Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Records Coral Bleaching During Annual Coral Reef Surveys
Sunscreens with the UV-filter oxybenzone are bad for the country’s coral, therefore the Nature Foundation is asking all residents, tour operators, businesses and especially water sport users to use and promote reef safe sunscreens. A number of studies have shown that sunscreen and certain individual components of sunscreen can have negative effects on corals and … Continue reading The Nature Foundation St Maarten Encourages Residents, Tourists and Tour Operators to Use and Promote Coral Safe Sunscreens.
Cole Bay- An unknown incident, more than likely caused by a large vessel, caused significant damage to the Nature Foundation Coral Reef Restoration Program. During inspection dives the two primary coral nursery structures sustained major damage and some coral fragments were affected. Foundation staff replaced the nursery to a safer location and replaced coral fragments at … Continue reading Unknown Incident Causes Significant Damage To Nature Foundation ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program
Last week the Nature Foundation visited the second form of Milton Peters College to teach the students about the importance of our coral reefs and about the Foundation’s Coral Restoration Project. Worldwide coral reefs are declining due to global warming, pollution, overfishing and habitat destruction, St Maarten’s coral reefs are also facing several threats and … Continue reading Nature Foundation Teaches Milton Peters College Students About Coral Reefs, Mangroves and Littering