St Eustatius National Marine Park
Note: The data were entered in the language of the country of origin (English, French or Spanish) and there is no translation available yet.Chapter 3. SITE DESCRIPTION
h - Information and knowledge
Information and knowledge available
All marine habitat from the high tide level out to the depth of 30 m is legally designated as the St. Eustatius National Marine Park by means of the St. Eustatius Marine Environmental Ordinance (AB 1996, No. 3). The total surface area of the marine park is 27.5 km2. The park is managed by STENAPA (St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation, which also manages two terrestrial parks on the island. Inside the St. Eustatius marine park two reserves have been designated in which no fishing or anchoring is allowed. Habitats include coral reefs (drop off walls, volcanic ‘fingers’ and ‘bombs’, spur and groove systems), 18th century shipwrecks and artificial reefs. The island’s marine environment is home, migratory stop over or breeding site for 4 IUCN Red List Species, 10 CITES Appendix I species and 98 Appendix II species.
There have been several surveys done over the years and reports have been produced on these studies:
Sufficient for the needs of St. Eustatius National Marine Park:
Tide tables: Internet and GPS
GIS: Maps produced 2009
Baseline habitat maps
Socio-economic valuation: Total Economic Value of Nature on St. Eustatius
The local recreational and cultural value of nature on St. Eustatius
The Tourism Value of Nature on St. Eustatius
Mapping the Economic Value of Ecosystems on St. Eustatius
Status of commercially important species (conch, lobster)
Effectiveness of no-take reserves
Not available:
Maps of currents
Species lists
Status of endangered, threatened and endemic species
Bathymetric maps
Digital Satellite Images
All available publications (listed below) can be downloaded from the Dutch Caribbean Biodiversity Database: www.dcbd.nl
List of the main publications
Title | Author | Year | Editor / review |
Habitat diversity and bio-diversity of the benthic seascapes of St. Eustatius | Debrot et al. | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
Breeding Success of Red-billed Tropicbirds at Pilot Hill, St. Eustatius – a follow-up study (2013-2014) | Hannah Madden | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
St. Eustatius National Parks Foundation Sea Turtle Conservation Program Annual Report 2012 | Jessica Berkel | 2013 | www.dcbd.nl |
In-Water Monitoring of Sea Turtle Aggregations in St. Eustatius National Marine Park | Julia Smith | 2008 | ww.dcbd.nl |
Tanker Anchoring Impact Study and Recommendations St Eustatius Marine Park | Nicole Esteban et al. | 2007 | www.dcbd.nl |
Population status and reproductive biology of queen conch (Lobatus gigas) in the coastal waters around St Eustatius | Melannie Meijer zu Schlochtern | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
The status of the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and its fishery in the coastal waters of St Eustatius. | Suzanne Poiesz | 2013 | www.dcbd.nl |
Status of Lobster and Conch populations and fisheries around St Eustatius. “Progress Report 2012” | Martin de Graaf | 2013 | www.dcbd.nl |
St. Eustatius National Parks - Lionfish Response Plan | Tadzio Bervoets | 2009 | www.dcbd.nl |
Cetaceans of Saba, Sint Eustatius & Sint Maarten: current knowledge and future monitoring | Meike Scheidat and Steve Geelhoed | 2013 | www.dcbd.nl |
Classifying benthic habitats and deriving bathymetry at the Caribbean Netherlands using multispectral Imagery. Case study of St. Eustatius | Paula Nieto et al. | 2013 | www.dcbd.nl |
The Total Economic Value of Nature on St Eustatius | J.A. Cado van der Lely et al. | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
The Tourism Value of Nature on St Eustatius | S. van de Kerkhof et al | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
The local cultural and recreational value of nature on St Eustatius | F. Fenkl et al. | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
Mapping the Economic Value of Ecosystems on St Eustatius | K.F. Tieskens et al. | 2014 | www.dcbd.nl |
Briefly indicate in the chart if any regular monitoring is performed and for what groups/species
Species / group monitored (give the scientific name) |
Frequency of monitoring (annual / biannual / etc...) |
Comments (In particular, you can describe here the monitoring methods that are used) |
Queen conch | daily | all landings of conch are monitored |
Lobster | daily | all catches brought in by fishermen are monitored |
Redbilled tropicbird | annual | breeding succes monitored |
seaturtles | annual | nesting beach patrols |