Conserving Coastal Habitats

Estuaries, mangroves and sea grass habitats are regions of remarkable biodiversity that serve as important nursery and feeding areas for manatees, dolphins and sea turtles, among other species, and help clean the environment. Coastal habitats are exceedingly vulnerable to degradation and fragmentation as two thirds of the world's human population is concentrated near these ecosystems. Poor management of near shore habitats and fisheries have resulted in dramatic economic and health impacts such as the collapse of fish stocks and the accumulation of toxic materials. Despite the importance of coastal wildlife conservation, few other organizations are undertaking projects to develop the necessary expertise and dedicated involvement of local scientists and conservationists.

Building Conservation Capacity, Worldwide

The primary goal of our aquatic conservation program is to better ensure the survival and recovery of threatened coastal species and habitats by strengthening the scientific foundation for decision-making and policy development. Consistent with Wildlife Trust philosophy and goals, the Edge of the Sea program strives to improve local conservation capacity on every project.

• As experts in their fields of expertise, our scientists work to fill the void of information needed by resource managers. We share information through traditional scientific and academic avenues, including peer-reviewed publications and conferences, and serve on advisory panels, recovery teams and agency workshops. For example, Edge of the Sea scientists and biologists have been invited to participate in many advisory groups including the 2005 US Fish and Wildlife Service Manatee Recovery Implementation Team, the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership, the NOAA Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission's conflict resolution team, the Interagency-Oceanaria manatee working group, the USFWS Manatee Warm Water Task Force and the Belize manatee working group, among others.
• Our future leaders program helps build the future of wildlife conservation by facilitating the professional development of local biologists and conservationists, worldwide. We help connect scientists in developing countries with the international conservation community to gain access to current research methodologies and technologies. We also build professional networks that foster the exchange of knowledge and experiences. This program reflects our commitment to develop in-country experts who are conservation leaders, not junior partners.
• We provide technical training in Florida, as funding allows, customized to the needs and experience of the individual. This typically includes training in manatee tagging and tracking, necropsy, aerial surveys, habitat analyses, rescue and rehabilitation, photo-identification, and genetic analysis. We coupled the Florida training with practical experience in Belize, where conservation issues are more similar to those in the biologists' home countries. The Belize fieldwork also serves to build relationships among the biologists.
• In the first two years, Edge of the Sea hosted 11 manatee biologists from Brazil, Columbia, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Guatemala and Mexico, to observe and participate in manatee field studies and experience Belize's model manatee conservation program. Many of these scientists are responsible for comprehensive management plans and for training other biologists and wildlife managers in their home countries.
• We conducted follow-up visits to Gabon to assist with a survey that included aerial tracking, and to Ivory Coast to provide additional tracking equipment for a study on the behavioral ecology of manatees there. In Cuba, an area rich in marine biodiversity, we are assisting with the development of surveys and a manatee radio-tagging project. In addition, Wildlife Trust will support the research of a participant from Ghana, Dr. Patrick K. Ofori-Danson, as an independent project.

Selecting Projects

Edge of the Sea focuses on key threatened species whose protection or study will also bring attention to broader issues related to habitat health, local economy and the relationship with human health. So in addition to furthering the protection of the targeted threatened species, our research and conservation processes also often improve protection for a complement of species and habitat. For example, in Belize our manatee research project in Southern Lagoon has helped to strengthen a locally based initiative to designate as a wildlife sanctuary, an area that now protects the lagoon system and thousands of acres of associated upland habitat.

Innovative and creative solutions to conservation problems, whether technological, methodological or simply "thinking outside the box" involves a degree of risk but may offer rich rewards for the protection and recovery of species or environmental health.

• In Argentina, Pablo Bordino's study of on Franciscana dolphins, a species severely threatened by death from entanglement in fishing nets, includes testing the use of sonic "pingers" to enhance detection of fishing nets by the dolphins and create an acoustical deterrent in order to reduce bycatch. If successful (so far there are many variables and ramifications to consider), and the pingers are adopted by fishermen, mortality of this threatened species will be reduced. This work may also provide an approach that could reduce the likelihood of more regulation of the fishery such as removal of nets in order to protect the dolphin.


• In Florida, the main cause of human-related manatee mortality is propeller driven boats. Manatees are killed and injured by the lacerations from propellers, but a higher percentage die from blunt trauma caused by impact with the crankshaft housing ("lower unit"). Water jet propulsion, similar but technologically superior to that used in personal water craft (jet skis), drives a boat with no external propeller or crankshaft, dramatically reducing the risk to manatees. Over the next five years, as funding allows, we will be testing these types of watercraft to investigate their feasibility to reduce the risk of manatee/boat collisions.


• There are only about 300 North Atlantic whales living today. The two major sources of mortality are collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear. We are currently collaborating with federal and state agencies and other organizations to collect information about these large whales, including reproductive behavior, distribution and ranging patterns. To collect this information we conduct aerial surveys along the southeastern US between December and March, during the whales' calving season.


• When a whale is sighted, the information is transmitted to the U.S. Navy. The Navy then sends the information through a special paging service that provides a general notice to mariners so that ship traffic can navigate around and away from the last estimated whale position. With only 300 whales remaining, saving the life of one can make an important difference for the survival of the species.

2005 Edge of the Sea Initiatives and Projects

• Northern Early Warning System right whale aerial surveys, Georgia
• Monitoring right whales off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia
• Right whale response to ships using D-tags in southeastern US waters
• Release and monitoring of rehabilitated manatees in Florida
• Manatee ecology in the Big Bend region of Florida
• Manatee carrying capacity around artificial warm water sources
• Evaluation and monitoring of proposed manatee sanctuaries and reserves in Florida
• Alternative technology to reduce manatee mortality
• Conservation of Antillean manatees in Southern Lagoon, Belize
• Conservation of Amazonian manatees, Clarice Bassi
• Conservation of Cuban manatees and sea turtles
• Conservation of West African manatee in Ghana, Dr. Patrick Ofori-Danson
• Manatee recovery plan for Veracruz, Mexico, Alejandro Ortega
• Conservation of Franciscana (La Plata) dolphins in Argentina, Pablo Bordino
• Conservation of Commerson's Dolphins in Argentina, Carina Righi