Belize boasts most manatees, but must take care

There is both good and bad news coming out of the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute tonight. The good is that with an estimated population of nine hundred, Belize boasts more Antillean manatees in our waters than any other country. The bad news is that those gentle creatures are dying at a rapid rate. A manatee death confirmed on Monday was the twelfth for this year. That is the same number killed in all of 2002 and two more than the ten discovered during 2001. The coast of the Belize District remains the scene of a plurality of manatee deaths with four carcasses recovered, three from the neighbourhood of Vista del Mar. While that area is a hotbed of manatee activity, largely due to the proximity of the Belize River mouth, it is also a popular location for boats. And while none of the deaths could be conclusively linked to maritime collisions, officials believe that the growth in boating activity all along the coast poses an increasing danger to the manatee population of Belize. The C.Z.M.A.I. is meeting with the Port Authority and NGOs to develop draft legislation for boating regulations as well as increased educational efforts. In the meantime, people operating vessels are asked to follow some common sense guidelines, which include keeping a close lookout for manatees and staying in deep channels as opposed to cruising over shallow grass beds where the mammals may be feeding. Tour guides are asked to approach known manatee sites very slowly and either drift or pole the final hundred feet to their destination.