MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
process, the Commission developed a draft outline of 
tasks to use in updating the current plan and sent it to 
the Service on 16 October 1992. Based on discus- 
sions during the review, the outline omitted tasks that 
had been completed or were no longer warranted, 
elaborated on tasks that should be continued, and 
added new tasks that appear possible and appropriate, 
given recent progress. As with the present plan, the 
suggested outline included tasks to minimize causes of 
manatee injury and mortality, protect essential mana- 
tee habitat, determine and monitor the status of 
manatee populations, and coordinate recovery work. 
The current plan was developed by the Service in 
cooperation with the West Indian Manatee Recovery 
Team, which includes representatives of the major 
groups participating in the recovery program, includ- 
ing the Marine Mammal Commission. Because the 
Service was planning a team meeting in November 
1992, the Commission recommended that the agenda 
for the meeting include a discussion on updating the 
plan, and that the Service circulate the draft outline to 
team members in advance of the meeting to facilitate 
discussion of the next plan’s content, organization, 
and preparation schedule. 
The Service agreed, and during the team’s 5 No- 
vember 1992 meeting the draft outline was reviewed. 
The team found the outline to be a useful basis to 
begin revising the plan. To help update the plan, the 
team also agreed to develop a suggested text for 
Service consideration and established a drafting 
committee. The team expects to complete an initial 
draft plan by next summer and to provide it to the 
Service at that time. It is hoped that a public review 
draft will be available by the fall of 1993. 
Other Florida Manatee 
Recovery Activities in 1992 
During 1992 significant progress continued on 
many crucial recovery tasks. Some of the important 
accomplishments are noted below. 
Boating Regulations — As discussed above, in 
1989 the Florida Governor and Cabinet directed 
county officials and the Florida Department of Natural 
Resources to develop interim boat speed and access 
16 
rules to protect manatees in 13 key counties. The 
interim rules are to be modified as needed and made 
final upon subsequent completion of county manatee 
protection plans. By the end of 1991 interim rules for 
eight counties had been developed and approved by 
the Florida Governor and Cabinet. During 1992 
interim rules were developed and adopted for two 
additional counties, and all counties had begun work 
on their county manatee protection plans. 
Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation — Presently, 
some 40 manatees are being maintained in captivity at 
five facilities in Florida. Some animals have been in 
captivity since before the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act was passed in 1972, others have been captured to 
treat injuries or other problems, and some animals 
were born in captivity. In the 1980s rescue and 
rehabilitation work began as a research effort autho- 
rized under a scientific research permit issued to the 
Service. As capture methods and treatment techniques 
were refined, such work gradually became a routine 
management activity. In 1992, therefore, the Service 
transferred responsibility for rescue and rehabilitation 
work from its research staff to its management staff, 
and submitted an application for an enhancement 
permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to 
authorize future rescue work (see also Chapter XI). 
The permit, which would be the first enhancement 
permit issued under the Act, is expected to be issued 
early in 1993. 
The Service also took several other steps in 1992 
to improve cooperative rescue and rehabilitation 
efforts. For example, it convened two meetings of an 
interagency/oceanaria working group established in 
1991 to coordinate captive manatee management and 
rehabilitation. With the aid of the working group, the 
Service formalized arrangements for handling dis- 
tressed animals, developed criteria and schedules for 
returning captive animals to the wild, established 
guidelines to avoid captive breeding that could cause 
overcrowding in rehabilitation facilities, and initiated 
work on a response plan for large-scale rescues in 
case of catastrophic events. It also established a 
planning committee of the working group to help 
evaluate research proposals involving captive animals 
and to ensure that authorized studies do not interfere 
with rehabilitation and release goals. 
