Roger Etcheberry (1944-2026), un acteur majeur de la connaissance et de la protection de la flore et de la faune de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon

Roger Etcheberry (1944-2026), a self-taught naturalist, contributed significantly over the past 50 years to improving knowledge of the flora and fauna of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. The archipelago’s flora was already well known thanks to numerous surveys conducted since the early 19th century, but he clarified its distribution and also discovered many new species. His contribution to our knowledge of birdlife was even more significant, increasing the number of bird species observed in the archipelago from 186 to 340, thanks in part to the network of observers he had established. With regard to marine mammals, he was particularly passionate about tracking humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)), thanks to an exceptional database he had compiled, which is considered by specialists to be the largest collection of images of humpback whale tail fins in North America. He was also heavily involved in advocating for the protection of the natural heritage of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, particularly the archipelago’s boreal forest, which is threatened by the overpopulation of mammals introduced for hunting purposes.