While at Monkey Bay, I worked in the small raised bed tree nursery and helped out with visiting college groups. Mangroves line the Belize coast and the mouths of rivers. Mangroves are home to many forms of wildlife including marine animals, American crocodiles, and manatee. Past the mangrove swamps lies the Caribbean Sea which contains the second largest barrier reef in the world. I swam with dolphins, stingrays, nurse sharks, barracuda, and hundreds of different species of coral and other reef life.
Many people fish for lobster, conch, and snapper.
There are three endangered species of sea turtles native to Belize. I became acquainted with Leroy Andrewin, a Creole of Gales Point Manatee, who is continuing to protect the hawksbill, green, and loggerhead turtles. At the time of my study, six nests had been found and protected. The sea turtle project has been denied funding by the Belize Fisheries Department this nesting season so the only workers are Mr. Andrewin and one volunteer. Four hundred and fifty islands and three atolls exist off the shores of Belize.