PHILIPSBURG--The sea turtle nesting season officially ended on November 30. However, the hatching of sea turtle nests is still expected in December 2019 and January 2020, said St. Maarten Nature Foundation in a press release on Friday.
The sea turtle nesting season runs from April to November. St. Maarten Nature Foundation, which is the organisation assigned to monitor sea turtle nesting in St. Maarten, is still expecting several nests to hatch at Gibbs Bay, Mullet Bay and Dawn Beach in the coming weeks. The foundation requests that the public be cautious for sea turtle nesting activities and immediately report any suspected activity to the foundation.
“Although the season ended, we still need to be vigilant for sea turtle nesting activities. We have at least four nests which are expected to hatch in the coming weeks.
“It is important to obtain information about our sea turtle hatching success in order to determine the state of the population and coming generations. Therefore, any suspected hatching activity or tracks of hatching sea turtles should be reported immediately to us.
“By contacting us directly, we are able to take the necessary data and measurements before tracks are faded in order to determine hatching success of our sea turtles,” said Nature Foundation Manager Melanie Meijer zu Schlochtern.
The foundation said it was able to increase its sea turtle nesting monitoring this year because of the addition of intern Saskia Werner of University of Applied Sciences in Dresden, Germany. She studies sea turtle populations in St. Maarten.
According to the foundation, every week Werner has been collecting sea turtle nesting data such as nesting signs, tracks and environmental conditions on all of the main nesting beaches – Gibbs Bay, Guana Bay, Simpson Bay Beach, Great Bay Beach, Mullet Bay Beach, Dawn Beach and Little Bay Beach.
The beaches will still be monitored for hatching in the coming months and the data will be analysed to determine the sea turtle nesting status of St. Maarten, said the foundation.
Sea turtle populations have plummeted to dangerously low number during the past century due to human impacts, bringing many species close to extinction and causing them to be listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In St. Maarten, all sea turtles are protected by international laws and treaties and by local laws. Based on Article 16 and 17 of St. Maarten’s Nature Conservation Ordinance, it is illegal to kill, wound, capture or pick up sea turtles. It is also illegal to directly or indirectly disturb or damage their environments, pick up or destroy the eggs of any species of sea turtle, or commit other acts that result in disturbance of the animal. It is also forbidden to disturb, damage or destroy sea turtle nests, lairs, or breeding places.
“When you see sea turtle hatchlings or nesting activities at the beach, never use a flashlight or flash photography. Normal lights will disorient the sea turtle or hatchlings and they will get lost on the beach ending up exhausted, while becoming an easy prey for many hungry predators.
“It is important that hatchlings have a smooth way to the ocean, without trash and holes to get stuck in. Therefore, please leave our beaches clean and cover up holes dug by humans or dogs as soon as possible.
“Even though small sea turtles look very cute, they are wild animals and should never be touched or disturbed. Furthermore, it is very important that sea turtle babies crawl from the beach into the sea by themselves, to make sure they are able to find their natal beach back when they reach adulthood, as female sea turtles will nest on the same beach on which they hatched.
“Therefore, hatchlings must not be carried to the sea by humans and the Nature Foundation needs to be contacted for proper procedures when a nest is hatching,” said the foundation in the press release.
St. Maarten Nature Foundation can be reached via tel. 1-721-544-4267 or by e-mail to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit the foundation’s Facebook page “Nature Foundation St. Maarten”. Emergency contacts can be provided on request, said the foundation.
