Background 



In the late 1970s, a major effort was undertaken to 

 strengthen the manatee recovery program. Among other things, 

 the Marine Mammal Commission, in 1979 and 1980, undertook a 

 thorough review of Federal, State, and private manatee 

 conservation activities and, in 1980, it allocated a special 

 Fiscal Year 1980 Congressional appropriation of $100,000 to 

 manatee research needs. Also in 1980, the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service completed and adopted the West Indian Manatee 

 Recovery Plan. As recommended by the Commission in its comments 

 on the Recovery Plan, the Plan was further supplemented by a 

 Comprehensive Work Plan that was adopted by the Service early 

 in 1982. These planning activities focused attention on 

 priority recovery needs and, through the early 1980s, they 

 helped forge a strong, cooperative manatee recovery program 

 involving numerous Federal, State, industry, and private 

 agencies and organizations. 



The following activities, discussed in greater detail in 

 the Commission's previous Annual Reports, illustrate the type 

 and range of cooperative efforts undertaken in the early 

 1980s. The Marine Mammal Commission: helped identify priority 

 research and management needs; provided funds to establish 

 and convene meetings of the Manatee Technical Advisory Council 

 of the Florida Department of Natural Resources; provided 

 funds for a program to train officers of the Florida Marine 

 Patrol, the Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and the 

 Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources in State and 

 Federal law affecting manatee protection and manatee biology; 

 provided terms of reference and partial support to the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service for developing a research and management 

 plan for Crystal River manatees; provided funds to support a 

 manatee activities coordinator in 1980; funded a study of 

 manatee food preference and feeding areas in Hobe Sound; 

 published a comprehensive analysis of habitat protection 

 needs for manatees in northwest Florida; helped make 

 arrangements with the Corps of Engineers and the Florida 

 Department of Natural Resources for posting manatee protection 

 signs in boat speed regulatory zones; provided direction and 

 funding for a number of manatee-related research and management 

 actions set forth in the Recovery and Comprehensive Work 

 Plans; and held a number of its Annual Meetings in Florida to 

 help focus and coordinate manatee protection and conservation 

 efforts. 



The Fish and Wildlife Service: developed and intensified 

 efforts to radio-tag and track manatees; maintained (until 

 1985) a manatee salvage and necropsy program; conducted studies 

 of factors potentially affecting the occurrence of boat/barge 

 related manatee mortality in certain areas; continued to 

 conduct and to evaluate techniques for aerial surveys of 



18 



