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2022 Sea Turtle Report
The 2022 report on the activities of sea turtles has been completed as their egg-laying season closed on December 1, 2022. Thanks to 331 readers on the mailing list, of which 38 are very active, there were close to 500 patrols along 15 beaches on the French side, which yielded 182 traces of egg-laying activity between March and November. This marks a decrease in such activity compared to the 2021 report with 268 traces. This slight decline can be explained by way of life cycles and reproduction cycles, as every two or three years a smaller number of females are able to reproduce on the beaches. Green turtles predominated as usual, with 108 traces (227 in 2021), followed by hawksbill turtles with 72 traces (compared to 41 in 2021). There were no traces for leatherback turtles; two traces were illegible. Plum Bay wins first prize for the busiest turtle beach in 2022, with 72 traces, followed by Long Bay with 42 traces, and the lagoon beach on Tintamarre takes third place (27 traces). This high level of egg-laying on the beaches of the Lowlands confirms the importance of the decree for the protection of the biotope issues in January 2021, and reinforcing the protection programs at these major sites. The three beaches in the Lowlands and Tintamarre represent 99% of the traces observed in Saint Martin. All of the participants that contributed to the 2022 egg-laying project were sent a copy of report that includes a synthesis of their contributions. The amassed data has already been sent to the ONF (French National Forests Office), which manages the sea turtle network in the French West Indies. Public review meetings will be organized in February and March 2023.
