Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Cleans Up Balloons Littering Sea over the Weekend

Posted on by Melanie
Plastic balloons on the ocean near St Maarten

PHILIPSBURG — The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation over the weekend removed numerous balloons from littering the ocean. Both on Saturday and Sunday out on patrol the Foundation collected balloons drifting in the sea. Previously the Foundation had urged various organizations, including the SCDF who organized two balloon related activities over the weekend, to find sustainable alternatives to using balloons during … Continue reading Sint Maarten Nature Foundation Cleans Up Balloons Littering Sea over the Weekend

Warning for all scuba divers and dive schools!

Posted on by Melanie

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’.

Caribbean Islands Surrounding St. Maarten Ban Single-Use Plastics, St. Maarten Stays Behind

Posted on by Melanie
littered ditch full of plastic

Nature Foundation St Maarten is again urging parliament to ban single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, straws, cups and cutlery and styrofoam food containers.

Critically endangered sawfish and vulnerable silky shark gain additional protection in the Caribbean

Posted on by Melanie
silky shark

Last week Caribbean nations agreed to add two more species to the Annexes of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol, the only transnational legal instrument for the environment of the Caribbean. At the insistence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, regional SPAW member governments unanimously decided to recommend largetooth sawfish and silky shark … Continue reading Critically endangered sawfish and vulnerable silky shark gain additional protection in the Caribbean

Two Dutch Caribbean Tagged Tiger Sharks Follow Similar Migration Patterns in the Caribbean

Posted on by Melanie
captured shark on a hook

Two years ago the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) organized the first of its kind shark tagging expedition to the Saba Bank and St Maarten as part of the Dutch Postcode Lottery funded “Save our Sharks” project. Eight shark researchers with a support crew and two camera teams captured and tagged tiger sharks on St … Continue reading Two Dutch Caribbean Tagged Tiger Sharks Follow Similar Migration Patterns in the Caribbean