PHILIPSBURG:--- The Caribbean Shark Coalition has welcomed the designation of the Sint Maarten Insular Shelf as an Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA), a global benchmark identified by the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Shark Specialist Group. The recognition confirms that the waters off the island's southern coast are among the discrete marine habitats worldwide that are critical to the survival of threatened sharks and rays.
Covering roughly 72.76 square kilometers and reaching from the surface to a depth of 300 meters, the Sint Maarten Insular Shelf ISRA overlaps the existing Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area. It qualified under three of the standard's criteria — Vulnerability, Reproductive Areas, and Resting Areas — on the strength of nearly a decade of field research led by Nature Foundation Sint Maarten, Beneath the Waves, Operation Swimway Caribbean, and partners.
Sharks and rays are among the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. More than a third of all known shark and ray species are now considered at risk of extinction, driven largely by overfishing, bycatch, and the loss of the coastal habitats they depend on to feed, rest, and give birth. As slow-growing, late-maturing animals that produce few young, sharks and rays recover slowly from population declines — and once lost from a reef, they are difficult to bring back.
Their disappearance carries consequences far beyond the species themselves. As predators near the top of the food web, sharks help keep reef ecosystems balanced and resilient, and healthy shark and ray populations are increasingly recognized as an asset for the dive tourism economies on which many Caribbean islands, including Sint Maarten, rely.
Important Shark and Ray Areas are the marine equivalent of the long-established system used to protect key habitats for birds and other wildlife. Identified by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group through an independent, science-based review, ISRAs pinpoint the specific places that matter most to sharks and rays across their life cycles. While the designation is not itself a legal protection, it gives governments, managers, and communities a clear, credible map of where to focus conservation measures, marine spatial planning, and sustainable management.
The Sint Maarten Insular Shelf supports a community of threatened sharks and rays, including the Endangered Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus perezi), the Endangered Whitespotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari), and the Near Threatened Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier).
Between 2018 and 2024, fisheries-independent research expeditions documented various species of sharks and rays along the island's southern shelf. Ultrasound examinations confirmed late-stage pregnancy in mature females, while juvenile sharks were recorded repeatedly — evidence that Sint Maarten’s shallow waters function as an important reproductive and early-development area for the species.
"This recognition is a milestone for Sint Maarten and for the wider Caribbean. For years our teams have been in the water documenting pregnant Tiger Sharks, newborn pups, and reef sharks returning to the same reefs season after season. The ISRA designation takes that local knowledge and puts it on the global map — it tells the world that these waters are not just beautiful, they are essential to the survival of threatened species. 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.
The Caribbean Shark Coalition is a regional network of scientists, conservation practitioners, and organizations working to protect sharks and rays and their habitats across the wider Caribbean through research, policy, education, and community engagement. The Sint Maarten Insular Shelf ISRA was developed through the 2026 ISRA North American and Caribbean Atlantic regional process, with funding from the Shark Conservation Fund. More information is available at sharkrayareas.org.
