Former Local Fisherman Turned Conservationist Named Champion of Saint Barthélemy Hope Spot

May 5, 2022

Header image: Didier and his team worked to replant endemic plants along the beach following the destruction of Hurricane Irma (c) Didier Laplace

BARTHÉLEMY, CARIBBEAN

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After experiencing a near-death accident on a fishing boat in 2011, Didier Laplace, Saint Barthélemy native, turned away from his former life as a commercial fisherman to become an ecologist with a newfound yet steadfast dedication to protecting the ocean. Upon his recovery, he realized that in just a relatively short amount of time the underwater world of his childhood had been degraded, and was in need of help. Through 2013, he visited marine biology universities, labs and island preservation sites to learn everything he could about reef and habitat preservation. From there, he created the association Coral Restoration Saint Barth (CRSB) in 2014. Since its inception, Laplace has grown their activities to include marine-dependent terrestrial preservation and has established partnerships with other regional groups and organizations to collectively restore the natural ecosystems of the island as a community effort.

 

 

Mission Blue has named Saint Barthélemy a Hope Spot in recognition of Didier Laplace and his team at Coral Reef Restoration Saint Barth for taking a leadership role in protecting and healing their local marine environment. Their scope of work includes conservation activities to safeguard and rehabilitate threatened coral species, delivery of educational programs for both residents and tourists, and grassroots organizing with regional scientific partners to expand upon current activities throughout Saint Barth and surrounding islands.

 

 

Dr. Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue, says, “Champions Didier Laplace, founder of Coral Restoration Saint Barthélemy and  Annelisa Gee, community member and business owner are working together to enhance protection for Saint Barthélemy. It’s a small place – it’s only 22 km² – small in size, but large in impact. This is a place located on the northeast edge of the Caribbean archipelago making it a strategic location for pelagic and migratory species. Actions have been taken since 1996 to help take care of the waters around Saint Barthélemy and it’s great that this has happened. The goal of the Hope Spot includes engaging the public and visitors to provide enhanced care and hope for the future of Saint Barthelemy’s treasured reefs.”

 

 

Didier Laplace, Founder of Coral Restoration Saint Barth describes the impact he hopes of their efforts. “Visitors who come to Saint Barth will be able to learn of a small and fragile community that has been successful in using energy sustainably, protecting our natural resources, and becoming an example of how development can be managed for the well-being of our fragile environment.” 

Hélène Bernier, First Vice-President, Saint Barthélemy, says, “It is with great pleasure and honor that the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy welcomes the designation of our island as Hope Spot in recognition of the exceptional work carried out by Mr. Didier Laplace and the volunteers of his association Coral Restoration Saint Barth (CRSB).” She continues, “I am proud of this appointment and assure that our new Collectivity will take to heart to support initiatives aimed at protecting and restoring our marine and coastal ecosystems.”

 

 

Saint Barth has been world-renowned for decades for its luxurious resorts and promises of picture-perfect romance and adventure. Laplace sees the long-standing success of the tourism industry as a valuable player in maintaining the area’s natural beauty. “We’re working to sensitize the yachts and hotels to the care that’s required to keep our island healthy” Laplace says. “We do it for the island, for the community, for everyone.” But, he explains, the tourists often aren’t aware of the reality. Whale watching on boats is a popular activity at Saint Barth, but increasingly people have been seeing reports on social media of whale sightings, rushing out onto the water and can hurt them by accident. “We’re educating the public to keep away from the wildlife and to not touch them, and we’re working with hotels to pass along this information to their guests.” 

 

 

The Territorial Agency for the Environment (ATE) in Saint Barthélemy works collaboratively with  Coral Restoration Saint Barth. “A lot of fieldwork is done together; surveys and timely actions such as rescues are coordinated between our two groups,” explains Laplace. However, he believes that in order to achieve meaningful protections, there needs to be centralization of all the key partners – from divers to members of the government. “Our projects need to incorporate everyone in the community. We need more divers and more people in the field.” Laplace also notes that the local fishermens’ association has been a key collaborator as they have felt the pressure in recent years of declining fish populations. They along with Laplace’s team are working together to build a fish trap escape system to reduce bycatch. He describes a new aquaculture project in which local fishermen are active participants. “The last few years have seen a great decrease in queen conch in the Caribbean islands due to overfishing.” He continues, “Normally when conches release eggs, 500,000 are laid and just 15,000 survive. Their chances of survival are already slim, and more must be done to protect them. Their population is stable for the moment, but could decrease in the years to come.”

 

 

Saint Barthélemy established its first marine reserve in 1996 under the name ASSOCIATION GRENAT. In 2013, the mandate was transferred to ATE for the protection and management of 1,200 hectares of marine reserve that encompass five different zones, half of which are coral formations and grass beds. The ATE is also responsible for the observation, reporting and management of the terrestrial environment of Saint Barth. The marine reserve consists of several islands, each with their own regulations for using fishing lines and other extractive activities. Laplace seeks to work alongside both the government and communities across the islands to incorporate a conservation method that he has achieved a high rate of success with. Eventually, he’d like to see the marine reserve move to protect all species; not just sharks. 

 

 

Laplace describes how their relationships with local SCUBA diving clubs have been instrumental to their coral conservation efforts. “When we started the project a few years ago, they helped us transport corals on their boats and they’ve been so generous with supplying us with diving equipment”, explains Laplace. He further elaborates on their partnership. “They helped us install the underwater structures in the nurseries and we trained them to spot certain predator gastropods (Coralliophila abbreviata) that have eaten away at the Acropora cervicornis corals in particular. “Every year, one of the diving clubs removes about 500 of these snails from the planted corals. To date, these new colonies that we planted several years ago are in really good condition.” The clubs have noted tourists who have returned throughout the progression of coral restoration project recognizing the improved health along the reef.

 

 

Monsieur Xavier Lédée, President of the Territorial Council of Saint Barthélemy says, “Protecting our environment is crucial worldwide, and probably even more for an island like ours.” He adds, “Being a Hope Spot, I deeply believe that Saint Barth can be a role model for others if we all work together to analyze, understand and protect the ocean.”

On the horizon for Didier and his team is to scale up and out to other islands and blue pockets of the world that share similar conservation needs as Saint Barths. In the works is a centralized online platform for the public to access conservation information and share findings and resources. Looking to the future, Didier hopes this tool can be used to inform policy across the entire reserve and serve as a scalable model for similar marine ecosystems around the world. 

 

 

Monsieur Lédée voices his support to continue to build upon conservation efforts in Saint Barthélemy. “For many years now [Didier has] dedicated most of [his] time to protecting the environment and it is simply fair that all this work is recognized. Be assured that the Collectivité will be a true partner and that together with Mission Blue, we will make all this hard work count.”