A bird taken in Martinique carries a coloured, numbered ring? That number is enough to trace it back to its release, whether you hunt near Fort-de-France or in any of the department's 34 municipalities. Reports are useful to the ACCAs (approved communal hunting associations) and federations that organise releases; the public only ever sees totals per department. As an overseas department, Martinique is also a region in its own right, with Fort-de-France as its prefecture.
Validating recoveries in Martinique
The Martinique hunters' federation (FDC 972) is not among the federations registered on RingFollow. Reporting remains possible and useful: the recovery is recorded, then reviewed by a federation; GIBIS plays no part in the validation. The ring number leads back to the original release: if the federation of the department where it took place is registered, it validates; if not, the report waits, filed under department 972.
Reporting in four steps
- Open bagues.gibis.fr on your phone and photograph the ring close up, in good light.
- Choose the municipality where the bird was taken, from the 34 in Martinique: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- Pick the species from the list (grey partridge, pheasant, red-legged partridge and hare); sex and circumstances are optional.
- Send it. For 24 hours you can still remove or add a photo.
The breeding side: gibis.fr
The ringed birds tracked here come from the GIBIS game farm in Chatte (Isère). For the pheasant strain, see PUR CHASSE® pheasants; for restocking in general, restocking game birds.
One ring, one data point
ACCAs and federations fund releases; rings are the only way to know what they yield in the field. Consolidated figures are public on the Statistics page, by department.
Key facts about Martinique
About 1,090 km², 34 municipalities and 360,630 inhabitants in 2022: those are the orders of magnitude. The number of municipalities (34) is higher here than in any other overseas department. Its arrondissements are administered from Fort-de-France (prefecture), La Trinité, Le Marin and Saint-Pierre.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
The other overseas departments
The other four overseas departments each have their own page: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion and Mayotte. No federation registered on RingFollow lies within 400 km; all of them are listed on the Federations page.
What the rings say in Martinique
- So far, RingFollow has no validated recovery taken in Martinique.
- No report linked to the department is awaiting validation.
- For comparison, all of France: 3,592 ringed birds in 85 releases and 16 validated recoveries (5 participating federations); details on the Statistics page.
After you send it
Once sent, the report is kept; if you left an e-mail address, an acknowledgement follows. The ring number is then matched against known releases; if one took place in a department whose federation is registered, that federation validates the recovery. Without a match, the report stays on file for Martinique, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. The public only sees totals per department; points on the national map are rounded to about 1 km.
Your questions about Martinique
Do I have to give my name to report a ring in Martinique?
No. Name, phone and e-mail are optional; an e-mail address only gets you an acknowledgement. Only the validating federation sees what you leave.
Why are there no statistics for Martinique?
A department's statistics are only published if its federation tracks its rings on RingFollow and at least 3 releases are recorded there. The Martinique hunters' federation (FDC 972) does not use RingFollow at present.
Who validates a recovery reported in Martinique?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Martinique hunters' federation (FDC 972) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
How do I report a ringed partridge taken in Martinique?
Just as for a pheasant: photo of the ring, number checked, species “red-legged partridge” or “grey partridge”, and the municipality. Nothing differs in Martinique.
What if the ring number is illegible?
Take several well-lit photos from different angles, then correct the suggested number if needed. The photos stay attached to the report for the validating federation.
Registering a federation
Hunter or ACCA official in Martinique? You can raise it with your federation. All federations and their situation: Federations.
Few figures for Martinique so far? See what a well-filled department page looks like (example with simulated data).