MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1995 



prepare a recommended revised recovery manatee 

 plan using the Commission's outline. 



In September 1993 the team transmitted a recom- 

 mended plan revision to the Service. With some 

 minor changes, the Service circulated the "Techni- 

 cal/Agency Draft Florida Manatee Recovery Plan 

 {Trichechus manatus) Second Revision" for public and 

 agency review in November 1994. Like the 1989 

 plan, the revised plan covered a five-year planning 

 period. It identified and ranked 120 tasks designed to 

 (1) assess and minimize causes of manatee mortality 

 and injury, (2) protect essential habitat, (3) determine 

 and monitor the status of manatee populations and 

 essential habitat, and (4) coordinate and oversee 

 cooperative recovery activities. 



On 24 February 1995 the Commission, in consulta- 

 tion with its Committee of Scientific Advisors, re- 

 turned comments on the draft plan to the Service. In 

 its comments, the Commission recommended that two 

 new tasks be added and that priority rankings for two 

 proposed tasks be increased. As two new tasks, the 

 Commission recommended (1) establishing a popula- 

 tion assessment working group to review relevant data 

 and develop appropriate models for monitoring 

 Florida manatee population trends, and (2) convening 

 a workshop to evaluate future recovery strategies that 

 might be used if increasing human population and 

 development overwhelm current recovery efforts. 

 With regard to task priorities, the Commission recom- 

 mended that two proposed tasks be upgraded to 

 priority one status; the first involves work to strength- 

 en enforcement of relevant regulations, such as boat 

 speed rules, and the second addresses field surveys to 

 assess compliance with boat speed rules. 



On 5 April 1995 the Service extended the comment 

 period on the draft revised plan through 5 June to 

 ensure that all interested parties had time to comment. 

 After the comment period closed, the Service incorpo- 

 rated appropriate changes, and at the end of 1995 the 

 revised plan had been submitted for final review and 

 approval by the Service's Regional Director. The 

 second revised Florida manatee recovery plan is 

 expected to be available early in 1996. 



Program Funding 



Most funding for work identified in the Florida 

 manatee recovery plan is provided through the Fish 

 and Wildlife Service and the Florida Department of 

 Environmental Protection. In 1993 a newly created 

 branch of the Department of the Interior, the National 

 Biological Service, also assumed important funding 

 responsibilities when the Fish and Wildlife Service's 

 manatee research program (the Sirenia Project) was 

 transferred to it. 



Following a comprehensive review of the manatee 

 recovery program in spring 1992, the Commission 

 wrote to the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nation- 

 al Biological Service, recommending funding needs to 

 meet the Department of the Interior's manatee re- 

 search and management obligations in Fiscal Years 

 1993 through 1997. For 1993 and 1994, departmental 

 funding for both its research and management pro- 

 grams was generally consistent with the levels recom- 

 mended by the Commission. For Fiscal Year 1995 

 the Commission recommended funding levels of 

 $689,000 for the Sirenia Project and $289,000 for 

 management-related work. Actual funding levels 

 provided to the programs in 1995 were again general- 

 ly consistent with these levels. The National Biologi- 

 cal Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service jointly 

 provided approximately $625,000 to continue the 

 Sirenia Project and additional support was provided by 

 Save the Manatee Club and another non-governmental 

 source. To carry out management obligations, the 

 Fish and Wildlife Service provided its Jacksonville, 

 Florida, field office about $300,000. 



In the fall of 1995 the Commission learned that the 

 National Biological Service was considering eliminat- 

 ing support for manatee research because of proposed 

 reductions in its Fiscal Year 1996 appropriation. The 

 Commission, therefore, wrote to the Service on 26 

 September 1995, noting that the scientific information 

 developed by the Sirenia Project was absolutely 

 essential for making informed management decisions 

 under the manatee recovery program and for meeting 

 related statutory obligations. It also noted that the 

 manatee recovery program was both nationally and 

 internationally recognized as one of the world's most 

 successful endangered species recovery programs, due 

 in large part to the databases and leadership provided 



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