Newsletter-28

Deep in the seas of the Réserve Naturelle, 15 meters below the surface, a microphone records all of the sounds heard underwater.

And there are lots of them. Natural sounds coming from shrimp, fish, or marine mammals — the primary species concerned by this experience — but also any sound pollution created by humans, such as the noise of motors or that of seismic prospecting. The sound-recording device is programmed to start every four hours, and capture all the decibels it hears over the next hour. Three American researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and a researcher from the University of Florida , who has set up similar projects on the other French Caribbean islands, installed the microphone in December 2016. These four scientists are working on CHAMP — Caribbean Humpback Acoustic Monitoring Program — a study of humpback whales and other marine mammals. Once the recording devices are collected, an analysis of their data provides information about the species of marine mammals that are heard in relation to the frequency and signature of the sounds. As for the humpback whales, it will eventually be possible to distinguish the number of individual “singers”, as each one has a personal voice in the midst of a common refrain, which itself changes every year.

The report on the 2016 scientific study on the egg laying habits of sea turtles has been concluded. The 50 eco-volunteers completed 376 patrols on the beaches during the reproductive season, from April through November, and recorded 235 tracks made by turtles that came to lay their eggs in the sand, 169 of which were made by green turtles. 60% of the 235 traces were noted within two days of the turtle’s activity on the beach, thanks to the frequency of the patrols, and 53% of these sightings showed that eggs had been laid. As always, the beaches most preferred by the turtles are Long Bay (123 tracks), Plum Bay (40 tracks) and the two beaches on Tintamare (54 tracks). The results of this annual study, which was launched in 2009, confirmed which beaches are most visited by these turtles, so that the scientific team decided to prioritize the sites in a new way for the study in 2017. These results and this strategy were the subject for an evening presentation on February 14, to mark the debut of the 2017 egg-laying season for sea turtles in Saint Martin.

The Réserve Naturelle lent a helping hand to the environmental police from The National Office For Hunting and Wildlife to help recover a ton of frozen conch on January 27 at three different importers.

The importation of this species, protected since 1973 by the Washington Convention, is strictly controlled. The importer must be able to provide an invoice if the provenance of the conch is the European Union or benefit from a special importation authorization if the country is non-European. As the three importers implicated here had not made a request for such authorization, their merchandise was seized and dumped into the sea from the boat belonging to the Réserve Naturelle. They will also face paying a stiff fine.

The destruction of the former hotel at Galion left a large, open space that the Conservatoire had planned to revitalize for some time.

The idea was to plant various species of trees, before putting in picnic tables, which would benefit from the shade provided by the vegetation. The trees were planted in February and the species were selected from those traditionally found along the edges of the island’s beaches : sea grapes, wild pears, catalpas, and sea-buckthorns.

Théo Tondu, né à Saint-Martin il y a 20 ans, a été accueilli à la Réserve naturelle pour un mois de stage, entre février et mars 2017.

Étudiant en métropole, il prépare un BTS pêche et gestion de l’environnement marin et a enrichi ses connaissances en travaillant avec le pôle scientifique de la Réserve naturelle, mais aussi en participant sur le terrain aux patrouilles avec les gardes. Sa mission principale a consisté à affiner la cartographie existante des différentes espèces de cactus dans la Réserve, notamment à Tintamare.

The most recent management council meeting for the Agoa sanctuary for the protection of marine mammals took place on January 11, 2017 in Martinique, in two parts.

Saint Martin was represented by Ramona Connor, vice president of the Collectivité ; Nicolas Maslach, director of the Réserve Naturelle ; Bulent Gulay, president of Métimer ; Laurence Vallette for Marine Time ; and Romain Renoux on behalf of Agoa in Saint Martin. First, the council concentrated on several achievements from 2016, notably whale watching and the good practices that should accompany this activity. Most of the whale watching companies benefitted from training in October 2016 to help reinforce these practices. In addition, Agoa worked with the organizers of large nautical events — Heineken Regatta in Saint Martin, The Bucket in Saint Barth, Karujet in Guadeloupe, Jet Race in Martinique — on the one hand to make sure the participants know exactly what to do in the case of encountering a marine mammal, and on the other hand, to verify if marine mammals are present in the area to reduce the risks of a collision. A report on the partnership with the association, «My School, My Whale”, highlighted not only the use of pedagogical tools and visits to 14 classes on the four French Caribbean islands, but also an excursion by boat in late June 2016 for a seventh grade class at the French Quarter middle school.

Le renforcement de l’intégration régionale Reinforcement On A Regional Level 20 Le Journal de la Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Saint-Martin n°28 avril 2017 In the second part, council members discussed projects for 2017, with the principal focus on the REMMOA program for the «census of marine mammals and other pelagic fauna by aerial observation”. This national program was launched in 2008 in the French West Indies by the Agency for Protected Marine Areas and its goal is to increase our knowledge about such species as marine mammals and birds, rays, sharks and sea turtles, in order to reinforce their protection. The different marine zones covered by REMMOA in 2017 — Martinique, Dominique, Guadeloupe, Saint Barth, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Saba, Saint Eustache — will be the subject of new aerial coverage. The comparison between the results of the different phases should allow for an estimation of the evolution in the populations of various species, and provide useful information on the quality of the overall marine environment. The program also provides a look at the distribution at sea for certain human activities — maritime traffic, pollution, fishing — that can be potential threats to the pelagic fauna in that same zone. A second project, titled CARI’MAM, hopes to reinforce the international cooperation between several Caribbean countries, including the French islands, in order to improve our knowledge about marine mammals and the management of sanctuaries. Finally, the council proposed a new regulation by the prefect on the observation of marine mammals that concerns all of those who are involved in nautical activities, including individual boat owners, as the current regulation concerns only professionals in the whale watching business. With such a regulation, the rules about approaching and observation that are only recommendations today would become obligatory tomorrow.

As in November 2015 in Saint Martin, a «Kozé Agoa» was organized in Martinique on January 10, the evening before the council meeting. The public was invited to the law school auditorium on the university campus for a presentation on the marine mammals of the Caribbean, the Agoa sanctuary, the CARI’MAM project (read above article), and the initiatives led by associations in Martinique. The audience was also instructed in the good practices for observation of cetaceans.