In southern Belize, new unapproved dredging work in the ecologically vital Placencia Lagoon has triggered widespread concern among local communities and environmental conservation organizations, who warn that the activity puts one of the region’s most biologically diverse aquatic ecosystems at severe risk.
User-shared footage of a working dredge vessel circulating across social media platforms has brought the activity into public view, with local residents reporting they have observed the machinery operating in the lagoon for multiple weeks. Rapid public pushback quickly prompted environmental advocacy groups to launch a formal response, with the Crocodile Research Coalition (CRC), a regional marine conservation group, leading efforts to highlight the potential irreversible harm the dredging could inflict on the lagoon’s native wildlife.
CRC Executive Director Marissa Tellez called the unregulated activity deeply alarming, emphasizing that Placencia Lagoon serves as an irreplaceable habitat for a wide range of protected and endangered species, including West Indian manatees, bull sharks, bottlenose dolphins, and the critically endangered American crocodile. What makes this dredging work particularly troubling, Tellez explained, is that it is taking place directly in a mapped, peer-reviewed documented feeding hotspot for manatees, a vulnerable species already facing population decline across the Caribbean.
In the wake of public outcry, online speculation has linked the ongoing dredging to local developer Emilio Zabaneh and the nearby Balam Golf Course development. Both parties have issued formal statements rejecting any connection to or involvement with the dredging operations. News outlet News 5 has contacted Anthony Mai, Chief Executive Officer of Belize’s Department of Environment, as well as other relevant government agencies to request comment and clarification on the legality of the work and the government’s next steps, but has not yet received an official response as of publication.