Brand new manatee signs have been put down the Belize River and in the Placencia lagoon. It is part of the Sea to Shore Alliance Program's effort to continue raising awareness on the safety and preservation of manatees. We met Program Coordinator Jamal Galvez on the Northern Highway and he told us more about the importance of respecting these signs.
Jamal Galvez, Program Coord., Sea to Shore Alliance
"This is a part of our efforts to try and bring Manatee more in the public eyes. The more people see it, the more people are going to be aware of the issues these animals are facing. It's a big part of our MAR FUND project. A grant that we got from MAR FUND which encompasses a lot of different thing including awareness, scientific research, partnering with stakeholders and responding to injured Manatees - putting up signage and stuff like that. It's more to bring awareness to shed some light on Manatees, so that the public can know about these species and that it's in their face."
Reporter
"Why is it important right now this time of year?"
Jamal Galvez
"Particularly important because we are just coming into the high season for tourism. I know recently the Tourism Board reported that the numbers have gone up and unfortunately the Manatees death rate has gone up as well, not directly related to tourism, but some part of it has some impact on it. Because of the increase in tourism - these months are the high season months we are trying to bring more awareness to the issues so that people are aware of the issues that Manatees are facing."
Reporter
"You said recently the numbers have gone up, can you share any statistics with us?"
Jamal Galvez
"Currently we are at 46, which is the most we ever recorded. Last year before we were close to 46 as well. The areas that have produced high number of incidents are Belize City and Placencia, particular the river mouth as we know is a very heavily traffic area for tourism. So our work doesn't stop. We have to continue to bring awareness to this, continue to partner with stakeholders and see how we can get a hold of the situation."
As you heard, 2018 saw the most manatees killed, 46 of them. There are only about 800 to 1,000 manatees left in Belize.
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