St Barthélemy / Special Interests / Eco/Nature

The official symbol of St Barths is the pelican (or gosier in French), which you will see all around the island, wheeling on the air and then diving headlong into the sea in the hope of a meal, and then, with luck, ruminating on a rock or a fishing boat to digest its catch. On land you will see a small number of other birds flitting around the undergrowth, including a hummingbird (colibri) and the little yellow breasted bananaquit (sucrier). You will see small wading birds on the beaches and in the salt ponds.

Fauna on the island is limited to a small number of reptiles – iguanas and quite a few lizards that climb the walls in the search for mosquitos and other insects.

Dolphins swim in local waters and will sometimes play at the prow of your yacht as it carves through the water. Whales can occasionally be seen between December and April.

Conservation

There is a big marine conservation effort on St Barths, with five protected areas in some of which there are regulated mooring areas (ie buoys so that you do not drop anchor on the corals). Divers are asked to pay a €1 fee per dive in the Marine Reserve. This may or may not be added on top of your bill by the scuba company (see our St Barths scuba diving section).

Sub-Protect - is concerned with the protection of the underwater environment and St Barth Cétacé records details about large underwater fish including whales.

On land there has been a campaign to stop people dropping cigarette butts on the beaches. You will see series of cut-off drinks cans hanging by string from wooden stands on the beach. You are asked to put your used cigarettes into them.

Non-profit organisations and Government links:

Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Barthélemy, c/o Association GRENAT, BP 683 Gustavia, Quai de la Republique, Gustavia, 97099 St Barthélemy Cédex, t 590 27 88 18 | resnatbarth@wanadoo.fr | www.reservenaturellestbarth.com