Telem Group and Nature Foundation Team up to Help Save St. Maarten Coral Reefs

Posted on by Melanie

TelEm Group in collaboration with the Nature Foundation are joining forces to increase public awareness about endangered coral reefs in surrounding St. Maarten waters. The joint effort has seen the placement of special donation boxes at various TelEm Group locations along with public awareness flyers about the threat to coral reefs around the island and … Continue reading Telem Group and Nature Foundation Team up to Help Save St. Maarten Coral Reefs

Nature Foundation St. Maarten and Ocean Science Team Research Performance of the Innovative Artificial Reef Structures “IntelliReefs”, to Improve Denuded Coral Reefs.

Posted on by Melanie

Last week, the Ocean Science Team of Reef Life Foundation was on the island to assess and research the 14 month performance of the ‘IntelliReefs’ artificial reef substrates which were developed to enhance coral and fish growth; deployed as a premier in St Maarten waters in the end of 2018. The team which collaborates with … Continue reading Nature Foundation St. Maarten and Ocean Science Team Research Performance of the Innovative Artificial Reef Structures “IntelliReefs”, to Improve Denuded Coral Reefs.

Nature Foundation Detects Worrisome Coral Disease Epidemic on St Maarten Coral Reefs

Posted on by Melanie

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.

Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Records Coral Bleaching During Annual Coral Reef Surveys

Posted on by Christian
bleached coral

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

Unknown Incident Causes Significant Damage To Nature Foundation ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Posted on by Christian

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

Nature Foundation Relaunches ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Posted on by Christian

The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has started to populate its first coral nursery structures again after most of the previous coral nurseries were damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Foundation has slowly started to implement its ‘Fragments of Recovery” coral restoration projects with installing the first two coral reef nurseries in an … Continue reading Nature Foundation Relaunches ‘Fragments of Recovery” Coral Reef Restoration Program

Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Scientifically Assess Coral Reef Impacts Post Hurricanes Irma and Maria Using GCRMN Standards

Posted on by Christian

The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation has started to scientifically monitor the state of the country’s coral reefs after the passing of hurricanes Irma and Maria in September. With financial support made available by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance the Foundation has started to research the state of the Country’s coral using the GCRMN method; “Reef … Continue reading Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Scientifically Assess Coral Reef Impacts Post Hurricanes Irma and Maria Using GCRMN Standards

70-95% of Some Coral Species on Sint Maarten Reefs Suffered Extreme Hurricane Damage

Posted on by Christian

The St. Maarten Nature Foundation has been continuously monitoring coral reefs both inside and outside of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area in order to determine the impact of Hurricane Irma. Intense impacts have been recorded on certain coral species and on the reef, however also some reef recovering has already been recorded. … Continue reading 70-95% of Some Coral Species on Sint Maarten Reefs Suffered Extreme Hurricane Damage

Nature Foundation Finds Immature Conch Unsustainably Harvested, Suggests New Regulations for Harvesting Conch

Posted on by Christian

Recently the Nature Foundation found numerous immature conch being harvested in the anchorage zone of Simpson Bay. Based on Nature Foundation research 70% of the harvested conchs did not form a so called ‘flared lip’ and are considered to be immature, the remaining 30% had a recently formed lip but are also still not mature. … Continue reading Nature Foundation Finds Immature Conch Unsustainably Harvested, Suggests New Regulations for Harvesting Conch

EU-funded Project to replant coral on local reefs starts

Posted on by Christian

COLE BAY--Nature Foundation started to populate its first coral nursery structures last week in an attempt to repopulate depleted reefs around the island with rare coral species. The first Staghorn corals (Acropora cervicornis) have been transplanted to the coral nursery station on the dive site close to Simpson Bay called “the Bridge.” The two nursery … Continue reading EU-funded Project to replant coral on local reefs starts