Marine campaign to protect local manatees

The plight of manatees in Belizean waters has always been a prominent feature on this newscast. But usually those stories are about yet another death. This month officials are launching the latest initiative that aims to protect the lives of these amazing animals. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports.

Kendra Griffith, Reporting
They are endangered globally … but with approximately a thousand of these gentle giants swimming in our waters, Belize has one of the largest populations of Antillean manatees in the world. But maintaining that number has been a struggle for Belize?s conservationists as high speed boats continue to collide with the mammals, many times causing their death.

Nicole Auil, Belize Programme Coordinator, Wildlife Trust
?The boat issue has actually increased, and we?re expecting it to increase more. And one of the reasons is the large tourism industry that has boomed, particularly from the cruise ship industry where they have short periods of time to take a large number of passengers to far distances. To Lamanai for instance, they go through the Belize River, and do Belize River tours. We?ve seen very large boats coming out with fifty tourists and they are travelling at high speeds. They are very sensitive areas they are travelling through, and likely because of their time constraints they are going through very quickly. So when it comes to boat, we haven?t seen necessarily a change or a decrease in boat impacts.?

For the last decade Nicole Auil has been at the forefront of manatee conservation. As Programme Coordinator at the Wildlife Trust in Belize City, this month Auil is embarking on yet another effort to protect the mammals.

Nicole Auil
?We?re going to be working with the three management groups there, SWEET in Corozal Bay, the Friends of Swallow Caye for the Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary and the Gales Point Wildlife Sanctuary Community Management Committee, to put up signs to basically alert boaters that it?s a manatee area and that they should go slow. We?re working with the Belize Port Authority who are giving us the authorisation to put up these signs. So these signs must be adhered to by order of the Ports Commissioner and we?re also working with the Forest Department, who has mandate over manatees in this country.?

Under the Wildlife Protection Act, boaters can be fined up to a thousand dollars or face six months in prison for harming or killing a manatee. But Auil admits that no one has ever been penalised for the offence.

Nicole Auil
?This is a preventative measure, and while people may suggest that the enforcement may not be there, we know that the port authority does monitor the harbour around Belize City. I have seen them when I go out to do my work and they are going to be working with us on enforcement. But additionally we are also going to asking for compliance. In the locations where we have signage, it will probably establish a system where we can say, well you were speeding in this zone that was declared slow speed or no wake?and it was declared so by the port authority. So there we can have a chain of regulations that can then be brought up if they don?t up if they don?t obey those regulations.?

There are already ten manatee deaths recorded for 2006, and while that is ten too many, Auil believes that the majority of those cases were accidental.

Nicole Auil
?No boater wants to hit a manatee. They don?t want to hit a manatee, because tourism depends on such resources. People pay a lot of money to see manatees. A tourist pays a lot of see manatees. A tourist actually pays a lot of money. A boat driver that actually slows down for a manatee and stops for a few minutes to show their fifty guests will likely get a tip from those guests than a boater that runs over a manatee.?

To prevent future mishaps, Auil offers these tips to boaters.

Nicole Auil
?Keep in the deep channels rather than the shallow sea grass areas, keep a lookout on your boat to see what?s in your way, whether it be boats, swimmers or manatees; and also wear polarised sunglasses, it helps you to see better through the water and boaters in Placencia are urged to slow down. Placencia is a very important site for manatees as well as in southern lagoon and along the coast generally in shallow areas.?

Auil say boat captains will receive manatee safety information when they go to renew their licence.

Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.

If you would like to volunteer with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network or sign up for the training session, call 614-8244 or 223-5271. Money for the signs is being provided by the Whitley Fund for Nature, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and White Water to Blue Water.