And we asked Galvez what he thought about Albert Loewen's comment that dredging in the Placencia Lagoon was actually beneficial to the marine life because, as Loewen puts it, "all wildlife loves deeper water."
Galvez explained that this is completely inaccurate.
Jamal Galvez, Program Coordinator, Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Belize
"They didn't go there for deeper waters, if they wanted deeper waters, they would have gone to open sea. These lagoons provide shelter for these areas, because it's sheltered under the mangroves, it's not rough, it's not deep, it's specifically why they're there, because seagrass grows better in shallow water. You're making the water deeper doesn't help. What they're doing is tearing out the sediments, disturbing the soil, murky the trace elements that eventually makes its way to the seagrass, manatees actually eat seagrass. And when manatee take in these sediments, we see it in the blood samples."
"These trace elements are elements that they cannot get rid of. It doesn't kill them but it affects their longevity, it affects their productivity, their lifestyle, their livelihood, so that is significant. Making the lagoon deeper is not the point."
