At least 20 manatees live on the North Coast. The discovery comes with the start of the National Manatee Census. The first two-week expedition for the survey took place in August 2022.
The Dominican Foundation for Marine Studies, Fundemar is the census coordinator. The survey seeks to discover where manatees live in the Dominican Republic waters and learn more about their chosen habitats.
The German Embassy in the Dominican Republic and the water bottling company, Planeta Azul are sponsoring the survey. The census also has the backing of the companies Martí, Grupo Piñero, Riu Hotels & Resorts, Limestone Park and the La Romana-Bayahibe Hotel Association.
Census team member Marvin del Cid reports on the effort in Diario Libre on 5 October 2022.
The census is underway in coordination with the Ministry of the Environment and with the support of the Clear Water Aquarium Research Institute, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, both in Florida and the Dominican Republic’s Maritime Affairs Authority (Anamar).
Rita Sellares, director of the Fundemar, Rachel Plekaniec and Marvin del Cid and Anmari Alvarez worked together on the two-week expedition of the North Coast, with the assistance of drones.
Anmari Álvarez Alemán is a Cuban marine biologist who works at the Clear Water Aquarium in Tampa, Florida, and Fátima Ramis, from the Jacksonville Zoo, Florida. Alvarez has extensive experience in manatee surveys in Cuba, Belize and the United States. Ramis has experience working with community members and taking data on the relationship between humans and manatees.
Sellares said that after the return to the wild of rescued Juana, Pepe and Lupita manatees, she became concerned about how many manatees live in Dominican waters and the conditions of their habitats. She said the survey came about after the experience of monitoring the manatees Juana, Pepe and Lupita.
Marvin del Cid explains that the expedition to count the manatees began on 16 August 2022 on the country’s northern coast. The multidisciplinary group is set to cover more than 1,500 kilometers by land and sea to establish the approximate current population of these marine mammals between the north of the Samaná peninsula and Montecristi.
Up to 2016, it was believed that there were no more than 30 West Indian manatees, Trichechu manatus, living along the coasts of the Dominican Republic. The species is in danger of extinction in the Caribbean region. But the recent sighting of 20 manatees in different parts of the country leads researchers to believe that the number may be higher, but still keeping within the range of a species in danger of extinction.
Del Cid recalls that manatee sighting trips were carried out regularly in the country many years ago with investigators on board small aircraft. These were discontinued in 1995 after a plane crash ended the lives of biologists Tammy Domínguez and Amaury Villalba. Today, state-of-the-art drones are used instead.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
6 October 2022