Report Contents

French Guiana

Status and distribution

The species is considered rare but no interviews or aerial surveys have been conducted in French Guiana and there is no data on the status of the population in the country (Sanite 1993 in litt.). Favourable habitat is scarce due to a narrow coastal plain (Bertram and Bertram 1963). Brazilian fishermen reported manatees in rivers Approuage, Mahury, Laughan and Ouanari and smaller rivers in the vicinity of Oiapoque (Best and Teixeira 1982). Officials from the Ministry of Environment have reported incidental captures in the estuaries of Cayenne and Iracoubo rivers, and Mahury river (Sanite 1993 in litt.).

Major threats and conservation problems

The major threat faced by manatees in French Guiana is drowning as a result of incidental catches in artisanal fishing nets (Sanite 1993 unp. report).

Socio-economic significance of the species to local communities

Manatees were hunted in the past by Amerindians and Creoles, but such activity has been marginalized due to the scarcity of the species.

National legislation and conservation measures

The manatee in French Guiana is totally protected by an inter-ministerial decree of 1986. France is a Party to the CITES Convention since 1978 and has signed the SPAW Protocol. A project for the identification of manatees' actual distribution in the country recently approved for funding entails interviewing local fishermen. An observer will be placed on board fishing vessels to help estimate population size, and boats from the French Navy will be requested to report manatee sightings and observations. A brochure was produced in June 1992 on the mammals of French Guiana but French Guiana does not count with an active education programme for the preservation of the manatee in particular (Sanite 1993 unpbl. report).

Last Updated: