Jamal Galves The Antillean manatee is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, as is the Florida manatee. Belize boasts the highest population of the Antillean manatees in the world! Manatees can be found along the entire coastline of Belize inhabiting rivers, lagoons, and cayes; in salt, brackish and fresh water systems. They are gentle and slow-moving animals that spend the majority of the day eating, resting, and traveling. Manatees are herbivorous mammals — they eat a large variety of submerged, emergent, and floating plants and can consume 9 to 10% of their body weight in vegetation daily. Their role as primary consumers make them very important to our ecosystem because their excretion is food for small fishes and crustaceans. Generally, manatees surface to breathe every 3 to 5 minutes; however, when resting manatees have been known to stay submerged for up to 20 minutes. Though slow moving, they can swim up to 20 miles per hour in short bursts. The Antillean manatees have no natural predators and a natural lifespan of approximately 60 years. However, in the wild, manatees tend to live only up to 30 years due to negative human impacts. Causes of human-related manatee mortality includes watercraft collision, hunting, pollution, destruction of coastal habitat and entanglement in fishing gears. Ultimately, watercraft collision and loss of habitat are the most serious threats to manatees in Belize. Considering a population of just about 1000 manatees, major increase in mortality, and very low reproductive rate, along with the already endangered status there is great concern for the survival of this species. In Belize, Manatees are protected by the Forest Department under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1981 and are listed as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. This makes it illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill manatees. Violations of this Act can be met with civil or criminal convictions associated with monetary fines and/or imprisonment. Over the years, Sea to Shore Alliance has been working with the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, Belize Forest Department, Belize Port Authority and other key stakeholders to address the key threats to
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manatees in Belize by developing boat speed zones and awareness campaigns to reduce the likelihood of watercraft collisions. Other conservation measures deemed important to saving manatees include: research addressing biology, mortality, population and distribution, behaviour, habitat; implementation of management plans; and the establishment of sanctuaries.
“The fight for the survival of our aquatic friends will require more than just efforts by conservationists and a few caring individuals, this fight is not one they can fight alone but one that requires a change in all human behaviours that negatively impact not only manatees but the entire marine ecosystem.” — Jamal Galves, Sea to Shore Manatee Project Manager, Belize
Photo: Gio Damiani