MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



likely that current mortality exceeds recruitment and 

 that the population is declining. 



The second primary threat to Florida manatees is 

 degradation and loss of habitat due to coastal develop- 

 ment. Florida's human population is now growing at 

 a rate of more than 1,000 people per day. Develop- 

 ment accompanying this growth has occurred largely 

 along coastal waters and rivers used by manatees. 

 Siltation, nutrient enrichment, other forms of water 

 pollution, and direct removal or filling of wetlands for 

 shoreline development degrade manatee habitat. This 

 degradation, in turn, reduces manatee food supplies, 

 eliminates natural secluded areas for mating, calving, 

 and nursing, and generally reduces the capacity of 

 coastal and river ecosystems to support manatees and 

 other aquatic species native to Florida. In the long 

 term, loss of habitat and environmental pollution may 

 well pose the most serious threat to manatees. 



Background on Recovery Activities 



Although the Fish and Wildlife Service is the 

 Federal agency with lead responsibility for research 

 and management related to manatees, assuring protec- 

 tion of manatees and their habitats is beyond the 

 ability of any one agency or group. It requires 

 extensive cooperation by many State and Federal 

 agencies and other organizations. In this regard, the 

 Commission has played a major role in helping the 

 Service and other agencies identify and undertake 

 cooperative efforts. 



Late in the 1970s, the Conmiission provided the 

 Service detailed comments and advice on developing 

 a recovery plan for manatees, and the first manatee 

 recovery plan was adopted by the Service in 1980. 

 Using a special one-time appropriation from Congress 

 that year, the Commission assisted the Service in 

 initiating and coordinating priority work under the 

 plan. It also helped the Florida Department of 

 Natural Resources by providing seed money to 

 constitute a Manatee Technical Advisory Council to 

 provide recommendations and advice on recovery 

 priorities. 



The 1980 plan helped forge cooperative efforts 

 among the Service, the Florida Department of Natural 



Resources, several other State agencies, the Coast 

 Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, industry 

 groups, such as the Florida Power & Light Company 

 and various marine zoological parks in Florida, and 

 many other groups. Among other things, work under 

 the plan produced new information and fostered 

 development of novel research techniques (such as 

 satellite tagging of manatees) to shed light on manatee 

 movements and ecology. Progress was also made in 

 reducing manatee mortality associated with some 

 human-related perturbations (e.g., entrapment in flood 

 gates), increasing efforts to review and mitigate site- 

 specific impacts of coastal development projects in 

 manatee habitat, and acquiring and protecting critical 

 manatee habitat in Kings Bay, a major warm-water 

 refuge on Florida's west coast. 



During the 1980s, efforts to protect manatees were 

 greatly enhanced by the Florida Department of Natu- 

 ral Resources as it assumed an increasingly prominent 

 role in supplementing the Service's research and 

 management efforts. For example, in 1985, it as- 

 sumed responsibility from the Service for the manatee 

 salvage and necropsy program, which is the primary 

 source for determining trends in manatee mortality. 

 By doing so, it freed Service support for urgently 

 needed studies of manatee movements and ecology. 

 The Department also supported other needed research 

 {e.g., aerial surveys), established and enforced 20 

 boat speed regulatory zones in important manatee 

 habitats, and increased efforts to acquire manatee 

 habitat for the state park, reserve, and preserve 

 systems. 



While all of these efforts were well placed, they 

 proved insufficient. Given the movement of animals 

 throughout the State and the magnitude of increases in 

 vessel traffic and shoreline construction, vessel-related 

 deaths increased and preferred habitat continued to be 

 degraded. Therefore, in 1987, the Commission 

 recommended that the Service re-examine research 

 and management efforts and update the West Indian 

 Manatee Recovery Plan. 



The Service agreed and, while work on revising 

 the plan was underway, the Commission provided the 

 Service and the State with additional recommendations 

 (see, for example. Appendix B, Reynolds and Gluck- 



