The secretary of Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA), Waldemar Quiles Pérezdoes not rule out extending the prohibition on the use of watercraft, known as “jet skis”if incidents with manatees persist or operators fail to comply with navigation rules.
“That will depend on the statistics we are collecting”expressed Quiles Pérez in an interview with The New Day When asked about the possibility of expanding the restriction recently imposed in the Black Sea sector of Jobos Bay, in Salinas.
“If it is necessary, if people do not respect the rules and if we continue to have incidents with manatees, we are going to do it”he warned.
This Monday, the DRNA prohibited through an administrative order the use, operation, circulation, parking and transit of water motorboats in that sector as a measure to protect the Antillean manatee, an endangered species whose main cause of mortality continues to be impact with boats.
The restriction is the first of this nature imposed by the agency in Puerto Rico waters.
Quiles Pérez maintained that the measure implemented responds, among other things, to the magnitude of the injuries that can be caused by the impact of a jet ski against a manatee.
“Imagine, a 1,500-pound animal, you breaking its spine, collapsing its lung, destroying its kidneys, all in a single impact.”he expressed.
The official compared the size of these marine mammals to that of a cow and questioned the speed at which a boat would have to travel to cause injuries of that severity.
In the secretary’s opinion, some operators do not respect speed limits or navigation regulations, which led the agency to initially adopt the ban in Jobos Bay.
“It is evident that there are unscrupulous people who do not want to follow the laws of the sea, the laws of navigation. They do not want to respect the maximum speed, because then we will be prohibiting the use of ‘jet-skis’ in that area initially”he stated.
Jobos Bay is considered the area with the highest concentration of manatees in Puerto Rico.
The secretary also recalled the impact of closely observing the consequences of a collision with one of these animals.
“When you see that animal of that magnitude, which has to be taken out of the water to put it in the back of a cargo bus, and you see that animal, it touches your heart,” he said.
According to the DRNA, it is currently estimated that between 500 and 600 Antillean manatees live in Puerto Rico.
Quiles Pérez mentioned that during last year around 26 manatee deaths were recorded and that, of these, about 20 were related to impacts from watercraft.
The New Day requested data on manatee deaths that have been recorded so far this year and is awaiting information.
The current order in the Black Sea maintains the transit of fishing vessels up to 25 feet in length authorized, as long as they operate prudently and in accordance with the regulations.
People who fail to comply with the prohibition are exposed to administrative fines of up to $5,000 for each incident, under Law 430-2000. Each day that the violation persists may be considered a separate violation.
The United States Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act establish that manatees are part of the group of endangered species.
Any person who has suspicion or knowledge of an endangered species, you can call Vigilante Corps at (787) 999-2200, extensions 2910 or 2911. Also, you can report these situations using the application Dolphin & Whale 911which communicates directly with the Marine Mammal Rescue Program.
Likewise, you can contact the Manatee Conservation Center at (787) 400-2782.