PHILIPSBURG – The waters off Sint Maarten’s southern coast have been designated an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) under the global standard of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. The recognition confirms that the Sint Maarten Insular Shelf is critical to the survival of threatened sharks and rays.
The area covers roughly 73 square kilometres, from the surface down to 300 metres, and overlaps the existing Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area. It qualified under three criteria: vulnerability, reproductive areas, and resting areas.
Nearly a decade of research
The designation rests on almost ten years of field research led by Nature Foundation Sint Maarten, Beneath the Waves, Operation Swimway Caribbean and partners. Between 2018 and 2024, research expeditions documented various shark and ray species along the southern shelf. Ultrasound examinations confirmed late-stage pregnancy in mature females, and juvenile sharks were recorded repeatedly, indicating that the shallow waters serve as a reproductive and nursery area.
The shelf supports several threatened species, including the Endangered Caribbean reef shark, the Endangered whitespotted eagle ray and the Near Threatened tiger shark. More than a third of all known shark and ray species worldwide are considered at risk of extinction, mainly due to overfishing, bycatch and habitat loss.
No legal protection, but a roadmap
An ISRA designation is not a legal protection in itself. It provides governments and communities with a science-based map of where conservation measures and marine spatial planning are most needed.
"Our job now is to make sure that recognition translates into lasting protection," said Tadzio Bervoets of the Caribbean Shark Coalition, primary author of the Sint Maarten ISRA submission. He called the designation a milestone for Sint Maarten and the wider Caribbean.
