Lifestyle
Simpson Bay Lagoon and Mullet Pond: a guide to St. Martin's shared lagoon
St. Martin's shared inland lagoon and its Ramsar-listed Mullet Pond: where it is, why it matters, and what threatens it.
By SXM Daily ·
Simpson Bay Lagoon is the large inland lagoon on the western side of St. Martin, shared between Dutch Sint Maarten and the French Collectivité de Saint-Martin. Its best-protected corner is Mullet Pond on the Dutch side, a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
Photo: SV Zanshin / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Where it is
Marigot sits on the lagoon's northern, French shore. Simpson Bay, Cole Bay and the Mullet Pond area lie on the Dutch side. Each side regulates its own part of the water, so rules on one shore do not automatically apply on the other.
Mullet Pond: the Ramsar site
Mullet Pond is Ramsar Site no. 2270. According to the Ramsar Sites Information Service, it was designated 23 May 2014. The listing was announced 13 Oct 2016, when the Ramsar Convention named it the Kingdom of the Netherlands' 55th Ramsar Site.
According to the Ramsar Convention, the site is a semi-enclosed area of shallow marine water within the lagoon. It holds some of the few intact seagrass beds left in the lagoon and 70% of the mangrove forest remaining on Sint Maarten.
Ramsar says these mangroves and seagrass beds are a major nursery for young fish, which later move to reefs including the Man of War Shoal Marine Park. It also calls the site the last remaining habitat in the wider Simpson Bay area for Anolis pogus, a lizard found only on this island, and the last intact feeding ground in the lagoon for the endangered green turtle.
The mangroves also help protect the coast during hurricanes and tropical storms.
Pressures
Ramsar lists continuing pressure from development, along with dredging, recreation and tourism, storms and flooding, and invasive species such as the red lionfish. The site is also used for eco-tourism such as kayaking tours.
French side
Ramsar status covers Mullet Pond on the Dutch side only. This guide does not cover protection rules for the French part of the lagoon.
Sources
- https://www.ramsar.org/news/mullet-pond-sint-maarten-becomes-netherlands-55th-ramsar-site
- https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2270
Source: https://www.ramsar.org/news/mullet-pond-sint-maarten-becomes-netherlands-55th-ramsar-site