Ecobreves – CUBA: Dragnets Threaten Manatees

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Apr 28 2008 (IPS) - Experts in the central Cuban province of Villa Clara hope that the discovery of three dead manatees (Trichechus manatus) will speed up the regulation of dragnet fishing in this area, where these large marine mammals are abundant. “It is essential to strengthen the rules and resources for manatee protection, as well as approving a project presented to the Fishing Ministry to ban the use of dragnets in areas where there is a confirmed presence of these mammals,” José Antonio Santos, assistant director for wildlife protection in Villa Clara, told Tierramérica.

Nazábal Bay is the preferred habitat of the manatee. Ten of the 11 dead animals found since 2001 were found there, evidently caught for their meat, said Santos.