Scientific inventories, missions and monitoring help to improve our knowledge of the island's species and environments. One of the aims of such monitoring is to identify the most sensitive species and environments, monitor their evolution, identify the regulatory measures or actions to be taken and check the effectiveness of the measures taken.
This type of monitoring aims to track changes in habitats and the populations that inhabit them. Phanerogam meadows and coral reefs are the two main habitats monitored. Some monitoring is carried out by specialists or consultancy firms. Others are carried out in-house or with the help of volunteers.
Several monitoring programs are carried out on a regular basis in Saint-Barthélemy, some of which focus on sharks and rays, while others concentrate on sea turtles (egg-laying and photo-identification).
This monitoring provides us with additional knowledge to guide the decisions of the Agence Territoriale de l'Environnement in actions to preserve native biodiversity.
This monitoring, carried out with the REGUAR association, represented by Océane BEAUFORT, has enabled us to identify the main species of rays and sharks that frequent our waters, and to monitor their abundance, state of maturity, reproduction period and current fishing zone.
This monitoring has led to the implementation of conservation measures through fishing regulations in the waters of Saint Barthélemy.
Every year, the beaches of Saint-Barthélemy play host to marine turtle egg-laying (the green turtle Chelonia mydas, the hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata and occasionally the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea).
This monitoring program, mainly carried out by volunteers, involves surveying the beach early in the morning, before it is frequented, to detect any signs of egg-laying or emergence. Each species of turtle leaves a different trace on the sand, depending on how it gets up the beach to its nesting area, which also differs from species to species, ranging from the open beach for the leatherback turtle to the seaside vegetation for the hawksbill turtle.
The exact location of the nest makes it possible to protect it by marking it out during incubation; but also, once emergence has passed, to enable authorized ATE agents to excavate the nest and calculate the nest's success rate. These results enable us to monitor the quality of egg-laying sites and identify any damage caused by natural causes (heavy rainfall, cyclonic swell) or human activity (fire on the sand, machine traffic, urbanization, etc.).
View reports: 2016 Spawning Monitoring Report
This monitoring is the result of 154 surveys which have identified more than 500 green turtles living around the island. This identification is based on anatomical criteria that are enriched over the years. This monitoring shows the age range, state of health and injuries of these turtles.
Thanks to Mayalen Zubia and Christophe Vieira, an initial inventory of algae has been carried out in our waters. One of the aims of this inventory is to identify which species are present and which ones are proliferating, indicating pollution.
Since 2023, Anaïs COULON -Doctor of Geography, specializing in disaster management and natural hazards- has been working on a thesis on the island's coastlines. More specifically, she is studying the island's beaches: their evolution, erosion and causes. The aim is to provide guidance to the Territorial Environment Agency on actions to be taken to curb beach erosion on Saint-Barthélemy.
