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Jamal Galvez, Sea to Shore Alliance
"Yesterday evening we got a call about a Manatee that was hit by a water taxi, I am not sure which one as yet. I am going to look into that today. Unfortunately, none of the water taxis have reported it. Some passenger on a boat had reported it to a colleague of mine and he had passed on the message to us. Yesterday we went out to the Radisson to survey the area to see if we had found the animal was injured and we could have offered some assistance to it, but we didn't find it. Nonetheless we went out to the Radisson again and we got a call it was here. It must have driven down with the current and the high wind last night. It's a huge male around 327 plus centimetres in length, very huge male. This is a big lost to the population. This is very likely a productive male as well. It's evident as to the cause of death. The numerous boat strikes that definitely came from a boat that was traveling in high speed and a very large boat as well."

Reporter
"What area would you say that it got hit? Is this an area where boaters should exercise some caution? Is this an area where Manatees would usually frequent?"

Jamal Galvez
"The area around the Radisson is known to have high speed. We are always cautioning boaters especially when they are approaching the river mouth. I know that the no wake zone is all the way at the tourist village but it doesn't mean that you stop or start to slow down there. Manatees are known to use this river. It is very important area in terms of their passages and travel routes. They are known to use this area. So, we continue to spread awareness that they are aware of this situation and that boaters report it. Nobody reported it and this is a problem that should have been reported to the Port Authority as a water craft collision. We continue to implore boaters to change their behaviour. This is an issue that's continue to increase every year and it's not an issue that small organization like ours and the few Belizeans that care about Manatee conservation can do on their own. This definitely needs government intervention in the form of legislation and enforcement. Something has to be done and something has to be done soon to address these issues."

"This is one of the worst I have ever seen. I am pretty sure that this animal died on the spot. If you look at the pictures you will see that the tail was almost taken off and the abdominal cavity was completely exposed. This animal died immediately. This is a very tragic way to die. Boaters need to exercise caution especially when travelling around shallow areas."

There were at least 3 manatees killed in boat collisions in the last month or so. 2 in PG and 1 near Old Belize.

Also, a Save the Manatee club member sent an email regarding these manatee deaths and it states "Most manatee deaths caused by watercraft collisions are from the actual impact of the boats hull striking the manatee rather than from propeller injuries. Therefore, although we support propeller guards, we don't want people to think they are a "cure-all" to the problem. Because manatees generally travel about 3-5 miles per hour…Save the Manatee Club supports slow speed zones in areas where manatee travel has been documented. However, on large vessels such as tug boats and freighters, propeller guards would certainly decrease the likelihood of manatee mortality. These types of boats are already going slow, but the props are so large that manatees can get pulled in and chopped up. Prop guards would help decrease manatee mortality in these cases."