CAY HILL--The Fire Department will not accept any requests for beach bonfires until October due to sea turtle nesting season. Residents and businesses are also urged to refrain from any beach fires to ensure sea turtles coming ashore and nests are not disturbed, especially on nesting beaches: Simpson Bay Beach, Guana Bay Beach, Great Bay Beach and Gibbs Bay.
At least, four bonfires took place recently on Guana Bay Beach. This was discovered during a recent clean-up of the beach, according to the department.
Further investigation by Nature Foundation St. Maarten revealed that pregnant female turtles aborted their attempts to nest on the beach based on clearly observed nest crawls.
At nesting beaches, beach bonfires and other sources of light pollution are known to modify sea turtle behaviour and even discourage egg-bearing females from coming ashore to nest, according to the foundation.
Bonfires and beachfront lighting also strongly affects sea turtle hatchlings, luring them inland and away from the sea where they succumb to predators, dehydration and other hazards, and hatchlings can be attracted to and burned by the flames.
Sea turtle population numbers have plummeted to dangerously low numbers over the past century due to human impact, bringing the species close to extinction and causing them to be listed as critically endangered.
In order to reverse this trend all sea turtle species are now protected by international laws and treaties as well as local laws.
Based on Article 16 and 17 of the Nature Conservation Ordinance St. Maarten it is illegal to kill, wound and capture or pick-up sea turtles. It is also illegal to directly or indirectly disturb their environment resulting in a physical threat or damage, or to commit other acts which result in disturbance of the animal.
It is also forbidden to disturb, damage or destroy sea turtle nests, lairs or breeding places, and it is also forbidden to pick-up or to destroy the eggs of any species of sea turtle, according to the foundation.
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