Updates to St. Maarten's diving and Marine Park website; seeking input

[oceanava]

Hi all! I am interning with the Nature Foundation St. Maarten where I live, and have done several dives with the staff for coral surveys, mooring and receiver installation, etc. The organization manages St. Maarten's dive sites and maintains the Man of War Shoal National Marine Park, which has the most pristine and inhabited dive spots on the island due to its conservation protections.

We recently updated the website's diving content in anticipation of vacation divers this summer. The link can be accessed at Diving in Sint Maarten|Protecting the Natural Areas of St. Maarten|Nature Foundation St. Maarten and there are further pages attached to that landing page. There is a ton of information about registering to dive and local regulations. You can also find info about some dive sites and St. Maarten-specific resources, news, FAQs, etc.

I am helping to edit the website and was wondering what sort of content potential divers would like to see! What's missing? What could be more clear? As a vacation diver, what would you benefit from when researching the area? St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Kitts offer some really gorgeous tropical dives, so we want to be as accessible as we can to visitors who come to dive the islands in the area.

I'd really appreciate some feedback on the diving/Marine Park website and would be happy to answer any questions about St. Maarten and general! Perhaps we will see some of you in the months to come if you decide to visit St. Maarten as a diving destination.

Thanks!

 

[Ulfhedinn]

Dove French side back in 2010 with Octopus when they still existed. It was nice. Didn't realize about the tags is that new, or has that always been a requimenent?

 

[oceanava]

Dove French side back in 2010 with Octopus when they still existed. It was nice. Didn't realize about the tags is that new, or has that always been a requimenent?

I do not believe the French side has a tagging or registration system for sites on their side, but the Dutch side has implemented its tagging system since at least the establishment of the Marine Park in 2010, I believe. The dive tag system went online in 2018. Most dive shops include the tag fee ($3/day per person or $15/year per person) in their package anyway so visiting divers who go with a local club may not know about it.

The French side has some beautiful sites but I think everyone here is agreed that the Dutch side is superior for diving! Especially in the MPA.

 

[Murphy in NC]

Hey SBRIS,

We are looking at coming up in July,

How is the island?
Met with a friend today who was there a couple months back and he said a good amount of the businesses were closed.

Whats the current situation ?

I do not believe the French side has a tagging or registration system for sites on their side, but the Dutch side has implemented its tagging system since at least the establishment of the Marine Park in 2010, I believe. The dive tag system went online in 2018. Most dive shops include the tag fee ($3/day per person or $15/year per person) in their package anyway so visitintoday g divers who go with a local club may not know about it.

The French side has some beautiful sites but I think everyone here is agreed that the Dutch side is superior for diving! Especially in the MPA.

 

[oceanava]

Hi Murphy,

You are in luck; that is not the current situation here. St. Maarten has been doing fairly well and most, if not all, of its businesses are open now. I have seen more and more visitors, especially Americans, here since March. The nightlife is open and there is no shortage of restaurants, beaches, and other recreational activities.

However, COVID cases have risen in the last two weeks and the French side just imposed an 8 PM curfew to deter people from going out late at night to bars and parties, etc. The Dutch side hasn’t taken action yet but they have had far more success with their vaccination campaign. The health care infrastructure here is not equipped for mass hospitalization so the governments are really trying to push residents to get vaccinated. You need a COVID test to get in and the Dutch gov is considering allowing vaccinated travelers to bypass the test requirement.

I don’t know what the situation will look like in July but I don’t expect it to be bad at all. The board of tourism is really pushing for visitors — they want people here, and it seems to be working so far. I spoke with some Americans who arrived here 3 days ago and they had nothing but glowing things to say about their time here so far. They’d been going to the beach, diving with a local club, eating out at restaurants, etc.

 

[klschnepp]

Hi Murphy,

You are in luck; that is not the current situation here. St. Maarten has been doing fairly well and most, if not all, of its businesses are open now. I have seen more and more visitors, especially Americans, here since March. The nightlife is open and there is no shortage of restaurants, beaches, and other recreational activities.

However, COVID cases have risen in the last two weeks and the French side just imposed an 8 PM curfew to deter people from going out late at night to bars and parties, etc. The Dutch side hasn’t taken action yet but they have had far more success with their vaccination campaign. The health care infrastructure here is not equipped for mass hospitalization so the governments are really trying to push residents to get vaccinated. You need a COVID test to get in and the Dutch gov is considering allowing vaccinated travelers to bypass the test requirement.

I don’t know what the situation will look like in July but I don’t expect it to be bad at all. The board of tourism is really pushing for visitors — they want people here, and it seems to be working so far. I spoke with some Americans who arrived here 3 days ago and they had nothing but glowing things to say about their time here so far. They’d been going to the beach, diving with a local club, eating out at restaurants, etc.

Hi. We are heading to Grand Case on 10 December and will be staying for the month, including a week bareboating. How are things looking on the diving and covid front? I saw there were protests about the pass sanitaire and some problems at one of the border crossings? Is it looking to be a busy December? Ocean Explorers seems convenient as not finding anyone on the French side that is operating. We're experienced divers and dove Saba many years ago, but 1st time diving on this island. Any insights would be welcome!

 

[Damselfish]

What’s the current state of Grand Case beach, like is there one currently? It seems to come and go.