TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Note to snorkelers

We've been snorkeling around Sint Maarten / Saint Martin since 2013. Every year we notice a few species of fish that are rarer than they used to be -- for example, queen triggerfish, queen angelfish, and fairy basslets.

This year, however, we have noticed one charismatic megafauna -- the spotted eagle ray -- is thriving. Almost every time we go snorkeling, on all sides of the island, we see more spotted eagle rays than ever before.

So that's good news.

Nice clear shots. Good work.

Nice pics, where's the best place to snorkel to see these eagle rays.

Thanks for the note and the pictures.

Caribbean Canadians,
The longer you spend time in the water, the more likely you are to see something interesting. There is no guarantee about any particular spot. The photo of three eagle rays swimming together was taken right off Pelican Beach, at Simpson Bay Resort.

Still seeing them. I took this photo just 2 hours ago at Mullet Bay Beach.

Thanks for the info.

Wow! Fabulous photo!!

I was just getting ready to say, I've seen some beautiful wildlife and artifacts in Mullet bay!! These are beautiful shots!! Thanks for sharing. What are you shooting with???

A small waterproof camera (Olympus TG-5); no additional lighting.

Beautiful!!

Took these off Cupecoy with my iPhone in a dive case. Wish I saw the rays while underwater!!!

So AUC spouse, are you saying the reef wildlife is on the up? Heard other stories too.

Haven't been diving for a few years but over the years I did in St Maarten, close to 300 dives, I saw a noticeable degrading of the corals which support the fish and crustaceans. Global warming, pollution, sargassum or whatever. Not looking good.