Review History and Conservation Status of the Antillean Manatee Trichechus Manatus Manatus in Hispaniola

Review History and conservation status of the Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus in Hispaniola

H AYDÉE M. DOMÍNGUEZ T EJO

Abstract To summarize the state of knowledge of the En- Mignucci-Giannoni, ), largely as a result of past uncon- dangered Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus trolled hunting throughout the Wider Caribbean Region. in Hispaniola, which comprises the Dominican Republic In addition to hunting and fisheries bycatch, manatees are and Haiti, I reviewed documentary archives from pre- also subject to collisions with water craft, chemical and Columbian times to . Manatees were historically abun- noise pollution, habitat degradation and habitat loss, dant in Hispaniola but were hunted for centuries for their among other threats, because they inhabit freshwater and meat and other body parts for diverse uses. By the end shallow coastal marine environments heavily used by people of the th century manatees had become relatively rare (Reynolds & Marshall, ; Self-Sullivan & Mignucci- around the island. Nevertheless, manatees remain wide- Giannoni, ). In most countries of the Wider Caribbean spread along the coast and occasionally occupy freshwater Region, remnant populations of the species are small and habitats in the Dominican Republic. In Haiti recent manatee declining (UNEP, ). Such is the case for the sightings were restricted to two coastal areas. Currently, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, which share the island of manatee population of Hispaniola is perceived to be declin- Hispaniola, between Cuba and Puerto Rico (Fig. ). ing. The most commonly reported threats to the species Historical data can be used as a baseline reference to include hunting, entanglement in fishing gear, boat strikes assess the current status of species (Pauly, ; Swetnam and disturbance by boat traffic, pollution, and habitat de- et al., ). No formal records of catch data exist to re- gradation and destruction. In the Dominican Republic long- construct past manatee population sizes and trajectories in standing national laws and international agreements protect Hispaniola. However, manatees were hunted by the original the species and its habitat, and past conservation actions inhabitants of the island and archaeological studies pro- have raised public awareness about the status of the vide insights into manatee distribution and aboriginal uses manatee. In Haiti knowledge of manatees is extremely (e.g. Fewkes, ; Miller, ; Krieger, ; Miller, ). limited and the species is not legally protected. I propose Manatee bones have been found at archaeological sites in country-specific and binational recommendations to im- the Dominican Republic dating as early as  BCE (Veloz prove the contemporary conservation of manatees in the Maggiolo, ). At the time when the Spanish arrived in Dominican Republic and Haiti. the West Indies in the late th century, the most dominant of the Indigenous peoples of Hispaniola, the Taíno, manu- Keywords Antillean manatee, conservation status, distribu- factured luxury and ceremonial objects carved from mana- tion, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Hispaniola, historical data, tee bones and other materials (Cassá, ). The Spanish Trichechus manatus manatus word for manatee comes from the Taíno word for breast, Supplementary material for this article is available at manatí, a term they presumably adopted from the Cariban  https://doi.org/./S languages (Arrom, ). During the conquest and colo- nization of the West Indies the eastern part of Hispaniola was primarily a Spanish colony and the western part a French colony. Manatees were considered an extraordinary Introduction and tasty fish, and descriptions of manatees were not un- common in accounts of European voyagers in the –th he Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus,a centuries (Durand, ). Nevertheless, only a limited Therbivorous aquatic mammal, is categorized as number of these historical documents were included in Endangered on the IUCN Red List (Self-Sullivan & regional reviews (Lefebvre et al., , ) and management plans for the West Indian manatee (UNEP, , ), and pertinent literature about Hispaniola written HAYDÉE M. DOMÍNGUEZ TEJO (Corresponding author, orcid.org/0000-0003- 1356-3454) Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Centro de Investiga- in Spanish and French was excluded. Recent information ciones de Biología Marina, Avenida Alma Mater, Ciudad Universitaria, Santo about manatees in Hispaniola remains dispersed and mostly Domingo, Dominican Republic. E-mail [email protected] ’ *Also at: Duke University, Beaufort, USA unpublished, hindering the assessment of the species status and the development of recovery plans to improve its Received  August . Revision requested  November . Accepted  February . First published online  December . conservation.

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, Downloaded fromdistribution, https://www.cambridge.org/core and reproduction in any medium,. IP address: provided 170.106.33.19 the original, work on 01 is Oct properly 2021 cited.at 05:18:19, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/termsOryx, 2021, 55(2),. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605319000140 284–293 © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319000140 Antillean manatee in Hispaniola 285

FIG. 1 Manatee sighting records in Hispaniola (Supplementary Fig. ), with specific rivers and locations mentioned in the text. In Haiti, a former manatee river, point, bay and township were located within the enclosed area near Port-au-Prince.

To document what is known about Antillean manatees Dominican Republic, the first sighting was recorded in the in Hispaniola, identify knowledge gaps, and recommend log of Columbus during his first voyage to America, when relevant conservation actions to protect the manatee popu- he sighted three ‘sirens’ in January  near Río Yaque lation in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, I reviewed del Norte, on the north-west coast (de Herrera y Tordesillas, historical and contemporary information on the species in ;deCharlevoix,; Fernández de Navarrete, ; English, Spanish and French. Documentary archives from Hazard, ; de las Casas, ;Baughman,;Husar, three time periods were reviewed: the pre-Columbian era ). In his  general history of the West Indies, ( BCE– CE), – CE, and – CE FernándezdeOviedoyValdésmentionedthatmanatees (Supplementary Material ). A comprehensive database of grazed on the banks of Río Ozama (the river that bisects manatee sighting records in Hispaniola was compiled and Santo Domingo city), where many large manatees were analysed (Supplementary Material ). My aims are to con- harpooned from boats and canoes (Fernández de Oviedo tribute to: () an update of the  assessment of the West y Valdés, ). The missionary de Acosta ate manatee Indian manatee for the IUCN Red List (Deutsch et al., ), meat in Santo Domingo in c.  (de Acosta, ; () updates of the Regional Management Plan for the West Baughman, ; Husar, ; Lefebvre et al., ). Two Indian Manatee (UNEP, ), and () future national unworked manatee ribs were recently recovered from the manatee recovery plans of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. – Tile Wreck on the north-west coast (ADMAT, ; Supplementary Material ). On the south-west coast,  Distribution Walton ( ) sighted a manatee near Isla Beata. According to de Charlevoix (), manatees were more Iobtained manatee sighting records around Hispaniola common in Etang des Gonaïves (Gonaïves lake), on the from the documentary archives reviewed, the majority (%) central coast of Haiti, than in any other place in Hispan- for the Dominican Republic. Twenty-four pre-Columbian iola (Fig. ). Moreau de Saint-Méry (), mentioned that records ( BCE– CE), comprising manatee teeth and un- manatees were frequently caught in Port-de-Paix and worked bones, bone utensils, amulets or idols and ceremonial Port-à-Piment, on the north and south coasts of Haiti, objects, were found at archaeological sites distributed respectively. This author also mentioned several natural throughout the Dominican Republic (Fig. , Supplemen- features or places named after manatees that suggest they tary Fig. ). Four pre-Columbian records of manatee bone were common in an area near Port-au-Prince: Rivière fragments and utensils were found near Fort-Liberté in the Lamantin, Pointe Lamantin, Baie Lamantin and Canton north-east of Haiti (Rainey, ; Rouse, ; Fig. ). du Lamantin (a manatee river, point, bay and township, There were five manatee sighting records in each country respectively; Fig. ). Today, a manatee lighthouse (Phare for – CE (Fig. , Supplementary Fig. ). For the Lamentin) and two manatee streets (Lamentin , and

Oryx, 2021, 55(2), 284–293 © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319000140 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.19, on 01 Oct 2021 at 05:18:19, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605319000140 286 H. M. Domínguez Tejo

TABLE 1 Details of the  studies dedicated to the manatee Trichechus manatus manatus in Hispaniola. NR indicates the technique was used but the value was not reported; a blank cell indicates the technique was not used.

Effort (h)1 Sighting records2 No. of coastal No. of field- Land/ From From field References segments covered3 Interviews work days4 boat Aerial interviews work Campbell & Irvine (1975)29 NR12NRNR5 1 Crombie (1975)6 NR5NRNR1 Belitsky & Belitsky (1978) 51 48 43 149 63 33 70 Rathbun et al. (1985)NRNR1334 Ottenwalder (1995), Ottenwalder & León (1999)5 49 418 5 NR 159 NR Pugibet & Vega (2000)2650 39 Lancho et al. (2006)1 621037 Domínguez Tejo (2006) 9 23 15 87 37 26 Domínguez Tejo (2007) 2 138 34 240 173 77 Domínguez Tejo (2009) 3 17 10 38 27 26 Domínguez Tejo (2010)1 2 3 3 Auil Gómez et al. (2011) 10 63 22 65 5 NR 13 Reynoso et al. (2011)12 103625

 Approximate survey effort in hours.  Number of manatee sightings from interviews or fieldwork that were included in the database.  Number of coastal segments of the Dominican Republic covered by the study, from a maximum of  (Supplementary Fig. ).  Number of days spent conducting land, boat or aerial surveys.  Results of the studies were pooled because they were part of the same project managed by the NGO Prospectiva Ambiental Dominicana.

Lamatin ) remain in that area. Descourtilz () men- than earlier studies, but several included multiple visits to tioned that manatees were sometimes found in Rivière de the same areas, and geographical coordinates of manatee l’Artibonite, but more particularly in Rivière de l’Estère, sightings were recorded more accurately (Domínguez Tejo, and that manatees were commonly hunted in the rivers. ;AuilGómezetal.,;Reynosoetal.,). There were  recent (– CE), widespread The study by Belitsky & Belitsky (, ) is the most sighting records in the Dominican Republic, mostly con- complete to date for the Dominican Republic, with country- centrated in six areas: from Monte Cristi to La Isabela; on wide aerial surveys and interviews conducted during – the north coast of the Samaná peninsula; from Bahía  (Table ). Ottenwalder & León () included .  de San Lorenzo to Bahía de la Jina; from Bayahibe to Las countrywide interviews completed in –, but the Calderas; from Nizao to Puerto Viejo; and from Barahona results remain unpublished. Aerial surveys planned in that to Pedernales (Fig. ). In Haiti  records were found in study were not completed because of a tragic accident in , only two areas: Gonaïves to Montrouis on the central and only general information was published (Ottenwalder, coast, and Jacmel to Grand Gosier on the south-east coast. ). The most recent sightings in Haiti were from –. Year-round presence of manatees has been confirmed in Regarding current use of freshwater habitats, fishers in Caño Estero Hondo (Domínguez Tejo, , , ) the Dominican Republic have reported manatees in Río (Fig. ), a mangrove lagoon on the north-west coast of the Higuamo since the s, and as recently as  (Fig. ). Dominican Republic where manatee watching is now the One manatee was found in Río Haina in . In contrast, main attraction. A manatee habitat modelling study was there have been no recent sightings in rivers in Haiti. also conducted for the lagoon, using generalized linear Thirteen recent studies collected data on manatees in models and simulations to relate manatee presence to habi- Hispaniola (Table ). The only study in Haiti (Rathbun tat variables (Domínguez Tejo & Rivas, ). The two most et al., ) comprised a . hour countrywide aerial survey recent dedicated manatee studies included aerial surveys on in  and interviews conducted in –, with few the north-east (Auil Gómez et al., ) and south-west manatee sightings. To compare the spatial coverage of the (Reynoso et al., ) coasts, but produced relatively few dedicated manatee studies conducted in the Dominican sightings (Table ). Republic, I used as a reference coastal segments of Several generalizations can be made from the manatee c.  km defined by Belitsky & Belitsky (; Sup- sighting records around Hispaniola. In the Dominican plementary Fig. ), determining the number of segments Republic, both historical (prior to ) and recent manatee covered by each study (Table ). In general, studies con- sightings are widespread (Fig. , Supplementary Fig. ). ducted from  onwards covered fewer coastal segments Although their habitat is primarily marine in the

TABLE 2 Indications of manatee abundance, mortality and population trend in Hispaniola based on documentary archives (Supplementary Material ).

Reference (by period) Abundance Mortality (deaths/year) Population trend 1250 BCE–1491 CE Mañón Arredondo et al. (1971) Abundant Veloz Maggiolo (1972) Abundant Soto-Ricart & Rodríguez (1989) Abundant 1492–1899 CE1 Vega (1983) [Cuneo, 1495]2 Abundant MacNutt (1912) [de Anglería, 1530]2 Abundant Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (1992) Abundant Many de Charlevoix (1731) Abundant Lyonnet (1800–1810) Abundant Moreau de Saint-Méry (1798) Abundant Many Descourtilz (1809) Abundant Many Hazard (1873) Rare Declining 1900–2013 CE Campbell & Irvine (1975) 3 Declining Crombie (1975) Declining Belitsky & Belitsky (1978) 60 (95%CI 41–402) Declining Thornback & Jenkins (1982) Rare Rathbun et al. (1985) Rare Declining Lefebvre et al. (1989) Never abundant Woods & Ottenwalder (1992) Rare Ottenwalder (1995) , 60 5–15 Declining Ottenwalder (1996)83 Ottenwalder & León (1999)9–23 Declining LaBastille (1999) Declining Pugibet & Vega (2000)30–45 3–5 Declining Lefebvre et al. (2001) , 200 5–15 Declining D’Ocampo (2004)7–83 Lancho et al. (2006)15–203 Domínguez Tejo (2006) , 104 Domínguez Tejo (2007)10–153 1–23 Increasing3 Domínguez Tejo (2009) , 105 0–15 Increasing5 Reynoso et al. (2011) Not abundant Stable/declining

 References from this period are ordered chronologically by birth year of the original author, not by publication year.  Original author noted in square brackets.  Estimates for the Caño Estero Hondo-La Isabela area only.  Individual estimates for three areas: Las Calderas, in La Altagracia province; near Barahona town, in Barahona province; Bahía de Rincón, in Samaná province.  Estimates for El Estillero only, on the north coast of Samaná province.

Dominican Republic, as noted earlier by Belitsky & Belitsky Abundance, mortality and population trends (, ) and supported by the majority of sighting re-  cords (Fig. ), manatees also inhabit mangrove lagoons Manatees were historically abundant in Hispaniola (Table ). – with brackish water (Domínguez Tejo, ) and occasion- Some authors from CE, including Cuneo (Vega,   – ally rivers. Current knowledge of manatees in Haiti is ), de Charlevoix ( ) and Lyonnet ( ), com- limited but historical records show that they were once wide- mented on the abundance of fish in Hispaniola, which at ly distributed along the coast and occupied freshwater habi- the time included manatees. Others explicitly referred to tats. The few dedicated manatee studies conducted in manatees. One of the major chroniclers of the West Hispaniola have been discontinuous in time and have lacked Indies, de Anglería, noted that manatees were found in uniformity in spatial coverage, survey methods and survey great numbers in the waters of Hispaniola (MacNutt,   effort (Table ). The most recent studies have focused on ). Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés ( ) testified to the smaller areas but collected higher quality data than earlier abundance of manatees in Río Ozama and stated that they studies. Compared with other methods, traditional, manned were frequently killed in the larger rivers of Hispaniola. In  aerial surveys have yielded few manatee sightings and may Haiti, Moreau de Saint-Méry ( ) mentioned how fre- not be cost effective in Hispaniola. quently manatees were caught in Port-à-Piment and Port-

de-Paix. Descourtilz () specified that the best time of and destruction, and others (Supplementary Material , day to hunt manatees was .–., when they grazed Supplementary Table ). According to Ottenwalder (), onthebanksofRivièredel’Estère and Rivière de l’Arti- the main cause of manatee mortality in the Dominican bonite. Probably as a result of overharvest, manatees had Republic is illegal hunting, and the main driver of this activ- become rare by the end of the th century. Hazard () ity is demand for meat, which is sold quickly; in many cases mentioned that manatees were formerly more plentiful the skeleton is buried and bones are retrieved later for com- and were found only rarely. mercial and medicinal purposes. The use of nets across river There is no reliable estimate of the manatee population mouths and in some marine protected areas, where such use size in Hispaniola. Aerial surveys were not designed to gen- is prohibited, poses a threat to manatees (Ottenwalder, ; erate abundance estimates, and estimates derived from in- Domínguez Tejo, ), as do unattended nets (Reynoso terviews were educated guesses at best. In the Dominican et al., ). Net types involved in manatee hunting and Republic, the highest countrywide estimates were those of fisheries bycatch include gill nets, beach seines and trawl Belitsky & Belitsky (), who estimated  animals (% nets (Pugibet & Vega, ). In Haiti, Rathbun et al. () CI –), and Ottenwalder, who estimated ,  animals reported that manatees were hunted traditionally with a (Lefebvre et al., ). spear, for eating and selling, and were caught accidentally Early estimates of manatee mortality in Hispaniola are in beach seines. qualitative (Table ). Many manatees were killed in the Anecdotes of manatee boat strikes were reported during –th centuries but there is no evidence of their commer- interviews in the Dominican Republic (Domínguez Tejo, cial exploitation in Hispaniola. During – the is- ; Betancourt, ), but no evidence of these events land’s major exports switched from gold to sugar, leather, (e.g. images or necropsy reports of manatees injured or livestock, ginger, cocoa, tobacco and wood (Cassá, ). killed by boats) was found in the documentary archives re- During that period, manatee meat may have been imported viewed. However, the abundance of fishing boats (Crombie, from South America to Hispaniola, as it was to other ) and disturbance by boat traffic (Belitsky & Belitsky, Caribbean islands (Lefebvre et al., ). ; Ottenwalder & León, ) have been reported as Recent annual mortality estimates for the Dominican threats to manatees in the Dominican Republic since the Republic were – individuals (Table ). Ottenwalder mid s. High speed tourism boat traffic poses a threat () stated that – manatees were captured annually to manatees in Bahía de San Lorenzo and its surroundings (most intentionally), in addition to an unknown level of nat- (Domínguez Tejo, ) and in coastal areas adjacent to ural mortality. From countrywide interviews, Ottenwalder Caño Estero Hondo (Domínguez Tejo, ; Fig. ). Boat & León () estimated a mean annual mortality of  strikes are therefore probably an emerging or potential animals. It is clear that the manatee population declined threat to manatees in the Dominican Republic. In contrast, in Hispaniola during the last century (Table ), although manatee boat strikes may be negligible in Haiti because most in recent years interviewees perceived local increases in watercraft are non-motorized (Mateo & Haughton, ). Caño Estero Hondo and El Estillero (Domínguez Tejo, Coastal development, especially for tourism, has resulted , ; Fig. ). in habitat degradation or destruction in many parts of the In Hispaniola manatees have been hunted most com- Dominican Republic (Belitsky & Belitsky, ;Pugibet& monly with nets and harpoons; current capture methods Vega, ; Lefebvre et al., ). Polluted coastal waters include the use of beach seines, gill nets, spear guns and (Ottenwalder & León, ; Domínguez Tejo, , ; traps (Supplementary Table ). Manatees were hunted Auil et al., ; Reynoso et al., ), marine debris and primarily for their meat, but the use of manatee body ghost nets (Pugibet & Vega, ) are also reported as threats. parts diversified with time to include their oil, skin and Lax manatee-related law enforcement in the Dominican bones (Supplementary Table ). Traditional uses of manatee Republic has multiple causes. Local authorities may lack oil and bones for folk medicine and handcrafts persist today the directive and the necessary training, equipment and in the Dominican Republic (Ottenwalder, ; Ottenwalder logistical support to patrol areas effectively and regularly, & León, ; Domínguez Tejo, ). Details on manatee so manatee captures may be hidden (Ottenwalder, ; hunting methods and uses in Hispaniola are described in Ottenwalder & León, ; Pugibet & Vega, ; Supplementary Material . Domínguez Tejo, ). Commerce in manatee products has not been formally Current threats studied in Hispaniola but, during a visit to the city market of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in , sev- Current threats to manatees in Hispaniola are mostly an- eral stores offered polished and carved manatee ribs as orna- thropogenic and include hunting, fisheries bycatch caused ments and manatee oil to treat colds (Mignucci-Giannoni, by entanglement in fishing gear, boat strikes and distur- ). It is unclear whether this illegal commerce is increas- bance by boat traffic, contamination, habitat degradation ing or decreasing.

The only reported natural threats to manatees in , ). These plans include, for the first time, specific Hispaniola are shark predation (Belitsky & Belitsky, , objectives and conservation actions for manatees. ;D’Ocampo, ) and hurricanes (Ottenwalder & Following the ecosystem services assessment and the sites León, ). No manatee health assessments have been con- proposed by the local NGO Fondation pour la Protection de la ducted. Diseases and parasites have not been formally studied, Biodiversité Marine (Wiener, ), the Haitian government exceptforasinglecaseintheDominicanRepublicin recently created two marine protected areas that enclose ex- (Mignucci-Giannoni et al., ). Current knowledge of the tensive coastal areas recognized as optimal manatee habitat genetic structure of the population is based on two studies (Rathbun et al., ): one on the south-west coast (Arrêté that revealed the manatee population of the Dominican Déclarant l’Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Gérées Republic is part of the Florida, Bahamas and Greater de Port-Salut/Aquin, ), and one on the north-east coast Antilles biogeographical group of the West Indian manatee (Arrêté Déclarant l’Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Trichechus manatus (García-Rodríguez et al., ; Vianna Gérées des Trois Baies, ; Supplementary Table ). et al., ). However, in both studies the sample size was lim- Other manatee conservation efforts in the Dominican ited to six individuals from the Dominican Republic. More Republic have focused on community outreach and educa- research is needed on diseases, contaminant loads and the tion, and the rescue and rehabilitation of stranded animals. genetic structure of the manatee population of Hispaniola. In – a local NGO conducted a manatee research project (Ottenwalder, ; Ottenwalder & León, ) and a national manatee educational campaign. The cam-  Legal status and conservation actions paign included over talks, conferences and workshops, and , posters distributed nationwide (Prospectiva Details on the legislation protecting manatees and their Ambiental Dominicana, ). The project received exten- habitat in Hispaniola are presented in Supplementary sive media coverage, increasing public awareness of the Material . As contracting parties to the Convention on conservation status of manatees, and promoting the need to Biological Diversity, both the Dominican Republic and increase their protection among authorities and local com- Haiti are responsible for promoting the recovery of threat- munities. During – the Centro de Investigaciones ened species and developing or maintaining legislation de Biología Marina of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo for their protection. In the Dominican Republic manatees Domingo and the Fundación Dominicana de Estudios have been protected since  under Fishery Law  Marinos led several manatee workshops and educational (Ley de Pesca No. , ), and several international activities throughout the country. and national legal instruments are in place to protect the The Red Dominicana de Varamientos (Dominican species and its habitat (Supplementary Tables –). In Stranding Network) was established in , based at the particular, with the ratifications of CITES in  and Acuario Nacional (National Aquarium), to study, rescue the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and and rehabilitate stranded marine mammals; in , Wildlife in , and with the enactment of the General these duties were transferred to the Centro de Rescate y Law of the Environment and Natural Resources in  de Rehabilitación de Especies Acuáticas (Aquatic Species (Ley No. –, ), the Dominican Republic prohibited Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre). Manatees are the most the taking, possession or killing and the commercial trade of commonly stranded marine mammal species in the country: manatees, their parts or products. In , manatees were of- most of the cases have been dead strandings with an ficially categorized as Critically Endangered in the country undetermined cause of death (Veras Mena, ). Three (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, successful manatee rehabilitations were identified in the ). In contrast, Haiti has neither ratified CITES nor documentary archives: a highly publicized case of an or- the Protocol (Supplementary Table ). Moreover, without phaned male calf rescued in  (Ottenwalder, ) that national legislation specifically designating manatees as survived in captivity until , and two calves rescued in a threatened species, they are not protected in Haiti.  that are currently housed at the Acuario Nacional. Although not specific to manatees, a  fisheries decree These captive manatees have not only played an important (Décret Réglementant l’Exercice du Droit de Pêche en role in outreach and educational activities at the Acuario Haiti, ) prohibits the use of harpoons for fishing and Nacional, but also in raising public awareness about mana- could offer protection to manatees if strictly implemented. tees nationally. However, no manatee reintroductions have In terms of manatee habitat protection, the Dominican been attempted in the Dominican Republic and a national Republic possesses an extensive system of marine pro- manatee recovery plan has not yet been developed. tected areas, including two marine mammal sanctuaries In Haiti marine mammal conservation efforts are rela- for which a conservation plan (Domínguez et al., ) tively recent and do not focus exclusively on manatees. and official management plans were recently developed The Haiti Ocean Project, a collaboration between Haiti, the (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Dominican Republic and the USA, has focused on marine

mammal research, education and ecotourism (Vail et al., Recommendations for Haiti: ), gathering data on marine mammal sightings in (8) Enforce the prohibition of harpoon fishing under the Haiti through field surveys and fishing tours. Both  fisheries decree (Supplementary Material ) and Fondation pour la Protection de la Biodiversité Marine update the regulations on the use of beach seines, to and the Haiti Ocean Project offer outreach and educational reduce manatee captures (Service des Pêcheries). programmes about the marine environment and marine (9) Implement a national manatee education and aware- mammals in general. No marine mammal stranding net- ness campaign for fishers, with the goal of reducing work has yet been established. manatee captures (Ministère de l’Environnement (MdE), local NGOs). (10) Conduct more dedicated manatee studies and con- Conservation recommendations firm current and former habitat. These studies could combine interviews and reconnaissance boat Based on this review I make the following recommendations trips with local guides to the areas where manatees for manatee conservation, prioritized by country, starting have been reported recently and historically (Fig. ), with those aiming to reduce anthropogenic mortality and to confirm manatee presence and identify high-use habitat degradation (Supplementary Table ), followed by areas and site-specific threats to the species (local those focused on education, research, management and le- and international universities, research institutes, gislation needs. Finally, I propose research and conservation NGOs). measures that require coordinated actions between both (11) Establish a marine mammal stranding network. countries as well as international expertise. The organiza- Similar to the Dominican Republic, manatees may tions and/or groups of actors best suited to implement be the most commonly stranded marine mammal each recommendation are indicated in parentheses. in Haiti, and stranding events could contribute information on the species’ distribution, health and Recommendations for the Dominican Republic: mortality, and on any threats (MdE, local NGOs). (1) Increase coastal patrolling and train law enforcement (12) Develop national legislation that specifically pro- agents to prosecute offenders, to halt illegal hunting of tects manatees (Supplementary Material ; MdE, manatees (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Parlement Haïtien). Naturales (MIMARENA), Marina de Guerra). (13) Declare more marine protected areas that include (2) Regulate boat traffic and the use of beach seines, gill manatee habitat as confirmed by new dedicated nets and trawl nets in the six identified coastal areas manatee studies (MdE, Parlement Haïtien). where most recent manatee sightings have been (14) Ratify CITES, the Protocol Concerning Specially reported (Fig. ; MIMARENA, Marina de Guerra, Protected Areas and Wildlife, and the Convention Consejo Dominicano de Pesca y Acuicultura). on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild (3) Enforce existing laws regarding the issuance of Animals. The latter could provide a platform to environmental permits for coastal development pro- promote future binational manatee conservation jects that may negatively impact manatee habitat actions with the Dominican Republic (Supplementary (MIMARENA). Material ; Parlement Haïtien). (4) Enforce existing laws regarding the illegal trade Binational recommendations: of manatee products (Supplementary Material –; MIMARENA). (15) Develop national manatee recovery plans that facili- (5) Continue organizing education and awareness cam- tate coordinated conservation actions between the paigns for coastal communities, to reinforce the need Dominican Republic and Haiti (MIMARENA, MdE). to protect manatees and to discourage illegal hunting (16) Conduct telemetry studies in concert with health as- and the use of manatee body parts for folk medi- sessments and genetic sampling of wild animals to cine and handcrafts (Supplementary Material –; identify habitats highly used by manatees, establish MIMARENA, local universities and NGOs). a baseline of manatee health, and identify poten- (6) Systematically assess disease and parasite loads of tial concerns for the manatee population regarding rescued manatees and recovered manatee carcasses, diseases, contaminant loads and genetic structure and initiate sample collections for future genetic (local and international universities, research insti- and contaminant studies (Centro de Rescate y de tutes, NGOs). Rehabilitación de Especies Acuáticas (CERREA)). (17) Obtain a reliable estimate of the total size of the (7) Reintroduce rehabilitated manatees back to the wild manatee population in Hispaniola, or a reliable esti- (CERREA). mate of the population trend, to use as a baseline to

measure the success of future conservation actions ARRÊTÉ DÉCLARANT L’AIRE PROTÉGÉE DE RESSOURCES (local and international universities, research insti- NATURELLES GÉRÉES DES TROIS BAIES () Le Moniteur .   tutes, NGOs). Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March . ARROM, J.J. () Manatí: el testimonio de los cronistas y la cuestión de Despite the historical decline of manatees in Hispaniola su etimología. Boletín del Museo del Hombre Dominicano, , –. AUIL GÓMEZ, N., ROSS, M., CLARY, D., MALARET,J.&TAYLOR,C. their future is not necessarily bleak. Conservation actions in   ( ) Manatees in the Bahía de Samaná, Dominican Republic. the Dominican Republic since the late s have increased In Abstracts of the International Sirenian Symposium. Society for the protection of the species and its habitat. Since , Marine Mammalogy, Tampa, USA. Haiti has taken steps for the conservation of marine mam- BAUGHMAN, J.L. () Some early notices on American manatees and mals and marine protected areas in general. This review and the mode of their capture. Journal of Mammalogy, , –.  additional content in Domínguez Tejo () served as the BELITSKY, D.W. & BELITSKY, C.L. ( ) The Manatee, Trichechus manatus, in the Dominican Republic: Distribution and Abundance basis for reports on the status of the Antillean manatee in (Serie Publicaciones Científicas Núm. ). Dirección Nacional de the Dominican Republic and Haiti prepared for IUCN Parques, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Domínguez Tejo, a,b). The recommendations for BELITSKY, D.W. & BELITSKY, C.L. () Distribution and abundance Haiti were consulted as part of the – management of manatees (Trichechus manatus) in the Dominican Republic.  – plan for the Aire Protégée de Ressources Naturelles Gérées Biological Conservation, , . BETANCOURT,L.() Resultados del Levantamiento de Información des Trois Baies in north-east Haiti (Henwood et al., ), Biológica Pesquera y Socioeconómica en Apoyo a la Zonificación which considers several programmes with objectives and Marina de la Bahía de Samaná. Programa de la USAID para la actions relevant to the manatee, such as a permanent closure protección ambiental/USAID (EPP), Santo Domingo, Dominican of the harvesting of marine mammals, the protection of Republic.  seagrass beds, and the regulation and control of fishing CAMPBELL, H.W. & IRVINE, B.I. ( ) Trip Report; Manatee Survey in –  and coastal development. The recommendations were also Dominican Republic, Feb. , . Unpublished report. National Fish and Wildlife Laboratory, Gainesville, USA. shared with relevant authorities during the celebration CASSÁ,R.() Los Taínos de la Española. Editora de la UASD, Santo of the first National Manatee Day in the Dominican Domingo, Dominican Republic. Republic (Domínguez Tejo et al., ). The Acuario CASSÁ,R.() Historia Social y Económica de la República Nacional and CERREA have since then expressed interest Dominicana. Editora Alfa y Omega, Santo Domingo, Dominican in adopting protocols for the return of rehabilitated Republic. CROMBIE, R.I. () Manatee Survey of the South-Eastern Tip of the manatees to the wild. Republica Dominicana. Unpublished report. National Fish and Wildlife Laboratory, Gainesville, Florida. DÉCRET RÉGLEMENTANT L’EXERCICE DU DROIT DE PÊCHE EN HAITI Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Fulbright- () Le Moniteur , Port-au-Prince, Haiti,  November . MESCyT Program, the Faculty for the Future Fellowship from the DEUTSCH, C.J., SELF-SULLIVAN,C.&MIGNUCCI-GIANNONI,A. Schlumberger Foundation and the Duke Graduate School. I thank () Trichechus manatus.InThe IUCN Red List of Threatened the many organizations and colleagues who helped compile manatee Species . Http://dx.doi.org/./IUCN.UK..RLTS. sightings in Hispaniola for over a decade (in particular Yolanda TA.en [accessed  May ]. León, Mónica Vega, Peter Sánchez, Omar Shamir Reynoso, José DE ACOSTA,J.() Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias. Casa de Alejandro Alvarez, José A. Ottenwalder and Jean Wiener), and Andy Juan de Leon, Seville, Spain. Read and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive DE CHARLEVOIX, F.X. () Histoire de l’Isle Espagnole ou de comments. S. Domingue. Chez PRALARD, Paris, France. DE HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS,A.() Historia General de los Hechos Conflicts of interest None. de los Castellanos en las Islas i Tierra Firme del Mar Oceano. Imprenta Real de Nicolas Rodríguez Franco, Madrid, Spain.  Ethical standards This study abided by the Oryx guidelines on eth- DE LAS CASAS,B.( ) Historia de las Indias. Imprenta de Miguel Ginesta, Madrid, Spain. ical standards. It was based on a review of documentary archives that DESCOURTILZ, M.E. () Voyages d’un Naturaliste. Dufart Père, were retrieved in the USA and the Dominican Republic. The research Paris, France. did not involve human subjects, animal captures nor the collection of ’  specimens. The results will be made available to government author- D OCAMPO,M.( ) Informaciones técnicas sobre experiencias y ities in the Dominican Republic and Haiti upon publication. observaciones de mamíferos marinos en el Caño Estero Hondo y sus zonas aledañas en la Provincia de Montecristi, República Dominicana. In Taller Actualización de Informaciones sobre Mamíferos Marinos del Parque Nacional del Este, Santo Domingo, References Dominican Republic. DOMÍNGUEZ TEJO, H.M. () Evaluaciones Preliminares de Áreas ADMAT () Tile Wreck  Project Background. Http://www. con Registros Previos de Presencia de Manatíes (Contrato No. admat.org.uk/tile-wreck--project-background [accessed  July --). 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