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Philipsburg residents save Sea turtles --- Light pollution must be reduced.

hawksbillhatchlings11102013PHILIPSBURG:--- In the late evening of Thursday October 10th early morning of Friday October 11th residents of Philipsburg including "Mr. Butterfly"/ "Puffer", "Blacks", "GT", beach attendants and the Dollison family took note of approximately one hundred sea turtle hatchlings making their way from Great Bay Beach up towards the general vicinity of the board walk.

These Hawksbill sea-turtles hatched and emerged from a nest on the beach during the course of the evening and would under normal circumstances be instinctively attracted by the reflection of the moon on the water and head towards Open Ocean. The bright lights on the boardwalk unfortunately seriously disorientated the hatchlings causing them to head in the wrong direction and exposing them to dehydration, fatal fatigue or predation (by birds, cats, dogs).

Alert residents of Philipsburg rescued the sea-turtles by collecting those headed inland, placing them in a large bucket filled with seawater and subsequently calling Sint Maarten Pride Foundation Vice President Rueben Thompson for advice on how to proceed. Upon arrival in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten Pride Foundation and area residents released the turtles along the shoreline and ensured that all hatchlings made it to the water safely. The nest site was located, inspected for additional hatchlings and those found were released into the ocean.

Sint Maarten Pride Foundation urges Government and the private sector to work closely with local environmental organizations such as EPIC, Nature Foundation and Pride to immediately reduce sources of Light pollution along the island's beaches, particularly along Great Bay Beach as there are potentially several more nests which will be hatching within the coming weeks. Proper management of sea-turtle nesting beaches is a critical step in efforts to save endangered sea-turtle species.

Sea-turtles are protected on Sint Maarten based on the Nature Conservation Ordinance of Sint Maarten and the Sea -Turtle Convention to which Sint Maarten is a signatory making it illegal to kill, injure, catch, pick-up, possess, directly or indirectly disturb their habitat or to carry-out other acts which disturb or harm Sea-turtles. Residents are encouraged to immediately contact Sint Maarten's environmental organizations whenever Sea-turtles are observed on the island's beaches.

The Hawksbill hatchlings in question would have surely met their untimely demise if residents had not opted to take action. Pride Foundation thanks and commends the above mentioned residents of Philipsburg for their vigilance and willingness to give Mother Nature a helping hand.

Sint Maarten Pride Foundation Press Release

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