Meeting In Gosier About Marine Mammals

The Réserve Naturelle of Saint Martin naturally took part in a meeting of 70 specialists from protected marine areas, as well as marine mammal experts in Gosier, Guadeloupe, on May 9-10, 2019. Agoa and Cari’Mam — Caribbean Marine Mammals Preservation— the network for the protection of marine mammals in the Caribbean, organized the meeting. The French islands and Guyana were present, as well as the Dutch islands, Anguilla, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cuba, Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, The Turks & Caicos, and the United States. Various ateliers allowed the participants to exchange ideas about protected marine areas and their management, public awareness campaigns, beaching of marine mammals, and the sustainability of whale watching. Saint Martin, represented by Nicolas Maslach, director of the Réserve Naturelle, and Michel Vély, president of Megaptera, as well as Bulent Gulay, president of Métimer, commanded attention as they presented the latest Megara campaign. This campaign comprised deploying six beacon tags and following the humpback whales on their journey toward North America and Europe, as well as taking eight skin samples, a dozen photos of tail fins, and recording numerous songs by the male whales. The Agoa sanctuary, which offers protection for marine mammals, covers the entire economic zone of the French Antilles, or 143,256 square kilometers.