Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 
Other Manatee Populations 
As noted above, West Indian manatees occur in the 
Greater Antilles, along the Caribbean coast of Central 
and South America, and on the Atlantic coast of South 
America into Brazil. Although there is broad recogni- 
tion of the need to improve manatee protection in 
these areas, support for manatee research and manage- 
ment activities is generally lacking. When opportuni- 
ties arise and resources permit, the Commission, as 
well as other agencies and groups in the United 
States, help support or encourage efforts to address 
basic needs in other countries. 
Southern Yucatan Peninsula — One of the largest 
known manatee populations outside of Florida occurs 
along the southern Yucatan Peninsula in Belize and 
the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. In 1989 the Save 
the Manatee Club and the Lowry Park Zoological 
Society of Tampa, Inc. supported an aerial survey of 
Belize led by a representative of the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service. The survey produced a high count 
of 102 manatees. The number of animals seen in 
selected areas exceeded the highest aerial survey 
counts of any comparably sized area in the Caribbean. 
Researchers in Belize and Mexico are interested in 
cooperative efforts to protect this manatee population. 
To help identify and coordinate priority research and 
Management work along this coast, the Centro de 
Investigaciones de Quintana Roo convened a work- 
shop on 7-8 September 1992 in Chetumal, Mexico. 
Participants included scientists and resource managers 
from both countries. Representatives of the Fish and 
Wildlife Service and the Marine Mammal Commission 
were invited and provided technical advice. 
During the meeting participants identified priority 
conservation work. Research priorities included 
developing a cooperative aerial survey program, 
Starting a radio-tagging and tracking study, improving 
efforts to recover and examine manatee carcasses, and 
assessing and monitoring key habitat features. Man- 
agement priorities included developing public educa- 
tion materials, particularly those aimed at encouraging 
compliance with bans on hunting manatees, and 
ensuring that new development is consistent with 
manatee conservation objectives. 
Following the meeting participants cooperated in 
preparing a proposal for the joint Belize-Mexican 
work on aerial surveys, local education, and training. 
The proposal was submitted to the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service’s Office of International Affairs, 
which provides funding for projects afforded priority 
by the U.S.-Mexico Joint Committee on the Conserva- 
tion of Wildlife and Fauna and Flora. At the Com- 
mittee’s XVIth meeting in December 1992, the project 
was reviewed and included among projects recom- 
mended for funding. Early in 1993, the Service’s 
Office of International Affairs will consider available 
funding and make its final decisions on support for 
projects endorsed by the Committee. 
Nicaragua — An area for which manatee data are 
particularly scarce is the coast of Nicaragua. To help 
assess the status of manatees in this area, the Commis- 
sion provided partial support in 1992 for a study 
involving aerial surveys and interviews with coastal 
residents (see Chapter X). Preliminary results indi- 
cate that a significant number of manatees occur along 
Nicaragua’s coast, but that hunting continues to pose 
a serious threat. As an unrelated finding, the survey 
team documented a significant range extension of the 
tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis), a dolphin species not 
previously known in waters north of Panama. A 
study report is expected to be published in 1993. 
The Cartagena Convention — Work to encourage 
manatee recovery in countries or regions throughout 
the wider Caribbean region also is being pursued 
under auspices of a Protocol on Specially Protected 
Areas and Wildlife. When it enters into force, the 
Protocol will become part of the Cartagena Conven- 
tion (the Convention for the Protection and Develop- 
ment of the Marine Environment of the Wider Carib- 
bean Region), which provides a framework for 
international cooperation in support of the Caribbean 
Environment Program. The program, one of 11 
Regional Seas Programs, is sponsored by the United 
Nations Environment Program and the region’s parti- 
cipating nations. Its purpose is to establish coopera- 
tive international work on regional environmental 
protection and development issues. 
The Protocol on Specially Protected Areas and 
Wildlife was signed in 1991 and will enter into force 
