similar analysis of habitat protection needs for east coast 

 manatees. 



The product, a report entitled "Preliminary Assessment 

 of Habitat Protection Needs for West Indian Manatees on the 

 East Coast of Florida and Georgia," was prepared (see Appendix 

 C, Marine Mammal Commission, 1988) . The report was considered 

 a preliminary assessment because much new information on 

 manatee habitat use patterns was in the process of being 

 collected and analyzed as a result of ongoing radio-tracking 

 studies and aerial surveys by the Fish and Wildlife Service 

 and the Florida Department of Natural Resources. Once that 

 information becomes available, there will be a need to update 

 and expand on analyses of habitat protection needs. 



Among other findings, the Commission's report noted 

 that: East Coast manatees constitute a more or less discrete 

 population whose principal range extends from southern Georgia 

 to southeast Florida; a reasonable estimate of the size of 

 the East Coast population is between 700 and 900 animals; in 

 1987, 73 manatee carcasses were recovered along the East 

 Coast suggesting that the annual mortality rate for the east 

 coast population that year may have been 8 to 10 percent of 

 the total population; human-related causes accounted for 32 

 east coast deaths in 1987, 27 of which were due to collisions 

 with boats; and given such a high mortality rate and the 

 species' inherently low reproductive rate, it is likely that 

 the population is, at best, stable and may be declining in 

 size. The report also concluded that the principal threats 

 to East Coast manatees and their essential habitat are boat 

 traffic, which makes vital habitats hazardous to animals, and 

 coastal development, which can reduce grass beds preferred as 

 feeding areas and eliminate secluded natural areas for resting, 

 mating, calving, and nursing. 



To address the most important problems, the report 

 identified additional actions to both protect and restore or 

 enhance manatee habitat. With respect to protecting essential 

 habitats, the report recommended that: 



(1) the existing system of 13 boat speed regulatory 

 zones on the East Coast be strengthened by estab- 

 lishing, posting, and enforcing 22 additional 

 regulatory zones in areas where manatees and boats 

 are most likely to encounter one another; 



(2) management plans for State Aquatic Preserves and 

 Local Growth Management Plans: a) identify and map 

 the location of grass beds used as feeding areas by 

 manatees, particularly winter feeding areas near 

 warm-water refuges, and b) prohibit new bulkheads, 

 marinas, and other developments in or immediately 



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