Sea Turtle Nesting Season (March through November) is off to a good start here on St. Maarten with a 1,6 meter leatherback sea turtle nesting on one of St. Maarten’s most important turtle nesting beaches this past evening Tuesday March 30th, 2010. St. Maarten Pride Foundation and Nature Foundation representatives were at hand to witness the event and ensure the turtle was not disturbed.
Turtles crawl up on beaches to lay their eggs, which may take up to 2 months to hatch, in the sand . To facilitate sucessful nesting and hatching please:
- Remove beach furniture or place it high up on the beach.
- Do not litter.
- Avoid having lights shine towards the beach area or reduce lights during nesting season.
- Do not drive on beaches.
- Do not stick umbrellas or torches in the sand.
- Keep pets on a leash and discourage your pet’s digging activities during nesting season.
Assist St. Maarten’s environmental organisations in protecting sea turtles by calling the Nature Foundation Sea Turtle Hotline number: 9229
Or PRIDE foundation on 5231188 and 5241516 whenever nesting or hatching activity is observed.
St. Maarten Pride Foundation
You can also visit our website www.visitstmaarten.com for more information
