Belize is home to around 1000 Antillean Manatees, the largest population in the world. And though the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute has done its best to ensure that these gentle mammals of the sea are protected, dozens of manatees die every year because of preventable human interaction, such as collisions with boats or getting caught in gill nets.

Today, CZMAI launched a promotional video created to highlite the importance of manatee conservation:

Jamal Galves- Program Coordinator/Research Biologist at Sea to Shore Alliance
"Belize like I always mention, is the last stronghold for Antillean Manatees in the world, so our efforts here are crucial not only for Belize, but for the rest of the world. Manatees are important to Belize in that they are the only nutrient recyclers in our waterways, they eat nine to ten percent of their body weight daily, and they excrete a lot which provides food for small fishes and crustaceans and we know how Belizeans enjoy seafood. If you want to enjoy those fishes stocks, you have to keep manatees around and it has an economic value as well. Many people in the tourism sector benefits from manatees."

"Last year we had 42 dead manatees, the year before we had 33 if I am not mistaken. If it continues along that direction, there is a possibility that we can see manatees become extinct within our life time if measures are not put in place to ensure that. Majority of these incidents occur in the Belize river mouth area, and this is the area that the manatees traverse a lot. They need to be there to get fresh water, they need fresh water to survive and it’s also an area used heavily by humans, particularly for tourism aspects. So we need to find a level playing field whereby tourism can exist alongside manatees and not have on or the other push away the other."

The promotional video airs as an advertisement in our next commercial break.