MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1998 



is sometimes used by several tens of animals. On 23 

 December 1997 the Commission wrote commending 

 the Service for promulgating the emergency rule and 

 recommending that it adopt the proposed rule to make 

 the sanctuary permanent. The Service did so, publish- 

 ing a final rule on 16 October 1998. 



Following the Commission's May 1996 letter, the 

 Service and the Florida Department of Environmental 

 Protection also examined manatee protection at Blue 

 Waters on the Homosassa River. Before the mid- 

 1980s, land around the spring was used as a small 

 privately owned wildlife park. The head of the spring 

 run and waters around the main spring were fenced 

 off and several captive manatees were held for public 

 display. In 1986 the state purchased the site and 

 continued to operate it as a state wildlife park featur- 

 ing manatees. An educational exhibit on manatees 

 was installed in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife 

 Service, and the captive manatee enclosure at the head 

 of the spring run was retained. 



Because the spring run below the fenced-off 

 portion is shallow, most wild manatees stay in the 

 deeper Blue Waters site near the mouth of the spring 

 run. Blue Waters has become increasingly popular 

 with divers and, as an initial step to assess manage- 

 ment needs at this site, the state supported a study 

 during the winter of 1997-1998 that documented 

 numerous manatee harassment incidents. To address 

 the situation, while also enhancing the spring's value 

 as winter manatee habitat, the Service and the state 

 discussed the possibility of deepening the spring run 

 to improve manatee access, moving the barrier across 

 the upper reach of the spring run closer to the main 

 spring to allow manatees to move closer to the warm- 

 water discharge, and prohibiting access by divers and 

 boats to the upper spring run and perhaps a portion of 

 the area near the mouth of the spring run. 



Upon learning of the discussions, the Commission 

 wrote to the Florida Department of Environmental 

 Protection on 19 May 1998. Noting that Homosassa 

 Springs was one of the few natural warm-water 

 springs in Florida having the potential to support a 

 large number of manatees in winter, it urged the 

 department, in consultation with the Service, to act on 

 the suggested approach. The department replied on 

 18 June, noting that a public hearing was scheduled 



for 30 June 1998 to consider manatee protection 

 options for the site and that it was pursuing steps with 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service to fund an additional 

 law enforcement officer for the area during the 

 coming winter. The department provided further 

 information on 9 July 1998. It noted that it planned 

 to evaluate the environmental impact of deepening the 

 spring run and expanding the restricted access area 

 down the spring run. It noted that plans were being 

 completed to increase enforcement at Blue Waters 

 during the coming winter. 



The Commission commented to the department on 

 21 July, noting that the approach was sensible and that 

 improving enforcement during the coming winter, 

 while developing a long-range plan to enhance mana- 

 tee habitat and manatee protection at the site, was an 

 important, responsive action. As of the end of 1998 

 enforcement at Blue Waters had been increased, 

 boaters and divers were being asked to avoid pre- 

 ferred manatee resting areas during the coldest peri- 

 ods, and the Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and 

 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection 

 were gathering additional data on water temperatures 

 and the occurrence of manatees around the spring run. 



Florida Manatee Die-Off Contingency Plan 



In the spring of 1996 about 150 dead manatees 

 were recovered in southwestern Florida. The size of 

 the die-off was unprecedented and, in consultation 

 with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Marine Mam- 

 mal Commission, and other agencies and groups, the 

 Florida Marine Research Institute launched an exten- 

 sive response effort to identify its cause. The results 

 suggested that a vast majority of the animals died as 

 a result of toxins associated with a naturally occurring 

 red tide. The event and the extensive resources 

 required to respond to it underscored the need for 

 advance planning to coordinate the many agencies and 

 groups whose expertise and help are needed to re- 

 spond quickly and efficiently to such large-scale 

 manatee die-offs. 



To address future needs in this regard, the Service 

 began drafting a die-off contingency plan shortly after 

 the 1996 die-off ended. In addition, the Marine 

 Mammal Commission, in cooperation with the Service 

 and the state, conducted a detailed review of the 1996 



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