In January 2000, environmental and animal rights groups led by the Save the Manatee Club filed lawsuits claiming that state and federal agencies had failed to adopt sufficient manatee protection regulations and, as a result, they were "causing manatees to sink further toward extinction." The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency sued by the groups, then released information indicating that it was considering establishing manatee sanctuaries and refuges in 150 areas. In addition, the Save the Manatee Club submitted a list to the state and federal agencies recommending 115 new sanctuaries and refuges. These lists included many of Florida's premier saltwater fishing areas including: Chokoloskee Bay, Bull and Turtle Bays, Mosquito Lagoon, Pine Island Sound, Terra Ceia Bay, Cockroach Bay, Bishops Harbor and Whitewater Bay. The sheer magnitude of the areas targeted for possible speed zones, no entry, and motorboat prohibited areas and the legal tactics used by the manatee groups to prevent other interested parties from participating in the legal proceedings caused CCA Florida to re-examine its longstanding position of non-involvement in manatee regulations.

The manatee issue dominated discussions at the February 2001 CCA Florida State Board of Directors meeting. We knew that some would accuse us of being anti-manatee if we began questioning the need for certain additional manatee speed zones and refuges. We also knew that if we did not become actively involved, public access to important saltwater fishing areas could be highly restricted or prohibited. The Board's decision to become involved was overwhelming and unanimous.

Over the past year CCA Florida has been involved in numerous actions regarding manatee speed zones and refuges to insure that the interests of saltwater anglers were fully and fairly considered, including:

• Action to convince the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to hold a public hearing on the proposed lawsuit settlement agreement developed by FWC staff and environmental and animal rights groups,
• Successful efforts to get CCA backed amendments incorporated into the settlement agreement, and
• Working with state and local agencies to insure that reasonable fishing access corridors are incorporated into manatee slow speed zones.

However, it wasn't until CCA Florida requested that the FWC re-evaluate the biological status of manatees, something that has not been done in 30 years, that we became the target of some criticism and accusations by manatee and animal rights groups. These groups, and writers responding to their cries, claim that we have opposed all new regulations for speed zones and sanctuaries, that we use "scare tactics" to get anglers concerned about manatee zones, that our involvement and "agenda is heavily influenced by the commercial fishing and boating industries," and that our request to re-evaluate the status of manatees is based entirely on a single year's survey. All of these claims and accusations are false.

To address these accusations and other factual misrepresentations we have prepared the following statements and responses.

1) The best available scientific evidence from state and federal agencies indicates that over the last 25 years, manatee populations have been increasing, not decreasing.

TRUE: Florida's manatee protection programs, combined with federal protection efforts, have been a success leading to substantial increases in abundance. The "minimum" population counts from annual state surveys have more than doubled in the last ten years. In the report Manatees in Florida: 2001, peak counts from state and federal research for the last 25 years were used to develop a population estimate model.(1) A nonlinear (curve) equation was fitted to the "minimum" annual counts and other estimates for numbers of manatees from 1976 to 2001 (See Figure 1). The raw data and model clearly show an increasing manatee population. Instead of attacking the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission with lawsuits and accusations of failure to protect manatees, the environmental and animal rights groups should be recognizing the state's management efforts which have led to a strong recovery of manatee populations.

2) Manatees are not as widespread as they once were and the geographic areas of Florida where manatees are frequently found are shrinking.

FALSE: The geographic areas where manatees are found on a regular basis are expanding. Evidence of this fact can be seen in the implementation of Florida law - Chapter 370.12(2)(j) F.S. which allows state agencies to adopt manatee speed zones: "only where manatee sightings are frequent and it can be generally assumed that they inhabit these areas on a regular or continuous basis." Over the past 15 years, using the statutory criteria that manatees "inhabit these areas on a regular or continuous basis," state agencies have enacted manatee speed zones in Lee, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Broward, Citrus, Levy, Hernando, Volusia, Putnam, Lake, Seminole, Flagler, Hillsborough, Collier, Martin, Dade, Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties.(2)

3) Major manatee groups either do not know or are deliberately misrepresenting the biological status of manatees.

TRUE: Being affiliated with a noble cause does not give an organization a license to misrepresent the facts. When the lawsuits were filed against the state and federal agencies, the Save the Manatee Club (SMC) issued press releases stating that "manatee deaths continue to climb, causing manatees to sink further toward extinction" and "only an estimated 2,400 (manatees) survive in the wild in Florida's coastal waters."(3) In January 2001, the SMC issued a press release prematurely announcing the FWC's approval of the lawsuit settlement agreement (which did not occur), stating "Landmark Settlement Agreement May Pull Manatees Back from Brink of Extinction."(4) The SMC and other groups are manufacturing a "declining to extinction" crisis which simply does not exist. In January 2001, state scientists visually counted an all time record 3,276 manatees in statewide surveys; more than double the number counted 10 years ago.(5) The annual survey counts from 1991-2001, as provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, are as follows:

1991 - 1,465
1992 - 1,856
1995 - 1,822
1996 - 2,639
1997 - 2,229
1998 - 2,002
1999 - 2,353
2000 - 2,222
2001 - 3,276

4) Manatee deaths attributed to boats are not "skyrocketing" as manatee groups claim; instead, boating mortalities are rising at rates similar to natural and other mortalities.

TRUE: Manatee and animal rights groups continuously focus on only the manatee deaths attributed to watercraft. They are so focused on emotionally exploiting the "body count" that they even use so-called "manatee body bags" in staged press events. They deliberately avoid comparing watercraft deaths over time to natural and other mortalities because a comparison of watercraft mortalities to all other mortalities over the last 25 years shows that the rates of increase are very similar (See Figure 2).(1) An increase in all forms of mortality over time is exactly what can be expected as the manatee population expands. When boat mortality is adjusted per 100 manatees there is no apparent change with time. A boat deaths/per capita analysis shows a variable, but stable rate, without an increasing trend.(1) No one wants any manatees to be killed by boats; however, as both manatee and boating populations increase, collisions and mortalities are unavoidable. Actions by manatee groups to drive management measures based solely on the emotional "body count" issue results in an endless enactment of regulations. As manatee abundance continues to increase there will inevitably be more watercraft mortalities, which will then be followed by even more regulation.

 

5) CCA Florida is urging state and federal agencies to establish measurable biological goals, which will insure a healthy and sustainable manatee population and will provide the means to determine the effectiveness of existing protection measures and the need for new measures.

TRUE: It doesn't matter whether the management issue is snook, grouper or manatees, CCA Florida believes that certain scientific information is needed to properly manage a species. First are biological goals which equate to a healthy, sustainable population and second are population models and other assessment tools which evaluate the population in the context of the goals. If such measures are not established, the effectiveness of existing protection measures cannot be determined, nor can the need for additional measures be fairly or accurately evaluated. In the absence of such goals and assessment measures, issues become driven by politics and emotion instead of science. This is what is happening in manatee protection. Management decisions are being driven by lawsuits, politics, and emotion which is focused almost exclusively on a single issue - the number of manatees killed by boats.

6) CCA Florida is opposing the adoption of all new manatee speed zones, sanctuaries and refuges.

FALSE: A Save the Manatee Club spokesperson claims that CCA Florida has continuously spoken against new regulations and "At every step they (CCA) have opposed the adoption of new manatee refuges, sanctuaries, safe havens and speed zones proposed under the legal settlement agreement."(6) Such claims are blatantly false. CCA Florida's comments and recommendations are in writing and entered into the hearing records of the FWC for anyone to see. We have consistently supported the creation and expansion of winter, warm water sanctuaries for manatees. In addition, we have not opposed shoreline slow speed zones designed to protect manatees and sea grasses. However, we have and will continue to oppose excessive restrictions and "no motorboat/no entry zones" in prime saltwater fishing areas where not a single manatee watercraft mortality has ever been recorded.

7) Some of the coastal areas targeted by state and federal agencies and manatee groups for additional speed, no-entry or motorboat-prohibited zones have never had a watercraft related mortality in the 30 years that governmental agencies have been tracking manatee mortalities.

TRUE: Turtle Bay (Charlotte County), Big and Little Mud Creeks (St. Lucie County) and Munyon Island (Palm Beach County) are some of the areas targeted for additional restrictions which have never had a watercraft related mortality reported in the last 30 years.(7) These areas are not winter, warm water refuge areas, nor is there any evidence to suggest they are calving areas. A prime example of the concerns and problems facing anglers can be seen with Big Mud Creek, one of the best tarpon fishing spots on Florida's east coast. There has never been a watercraft or any other mortality in or near Big Mud Creek. Manatee zones are already established which make all of Big Mud Creek "idle speed only" year round.(2) All adjacent and nearby shoreline areas are designated as "slow speed zones" year round. There is no reason or justification for additional regulations.

8) Most people do not know how many manatee speed zones and refuges are already in place.

TRUE: Federal, state and local governments have been creating manatee speed zones, sanctuaries and refuges for 15 years. These zones are in every coastal county on Florida's west coast from Levy to Monroe County, all counties on Florida's east coast, and the counties in the St. Johns River basin.(2) Brevard County has more than 100 square miles of speed zones and refuges, Lee County has 67 square miles, and in Indian River County 70 percent of the inshore coastal waters are covered by manatee speed zones.

9) In the 30 years that manatees have been on the federal endangered species list, there has never been a scientific review of the manatee's biological status to determine whether they should continue to be classified as "endangered" or be upgraded to "threatened" or "species of special concern."

TRUE: In fact, the detailed scientific analysis which is now required before placement on such lists was not done for manatees. In the late 1960s, a federal protected species law was passed which enacted major fines and penalties for killing animals such as eagles, Florida panthers, manatees and other threatened species. In 1972 when the federal Endangered Species Act was passed, manatees and other animals from the protected species list were grandfathered onto the endangered species list.(8) Although there were no quantitative assessments available in 1972, scientists estimated that there were about 600 manatees remaining in Florida. The FWC assessment process, which CCA Florida requested, will be the first time that the manatee's status has ever been evaluated using measurable, quantitative biological criteria.

10) If the FWC assessment determines that the manatees' classification can be upgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" or to "species of special concern" many of the existing manatee speed zones and other protections will be removed.

FALSE: Groups opposed to re-evaluating the manatees' status are making such claims to try to prevent the assessment. However, it is unlikely that state agencies would remove any of the existing regulatory measures which helped increase manatee populations. It is also important to note that reclassification by the FWC only affects the State of Florida's listing. It will not impact the manatees' listing and protection under the federal Endangered Species Act or the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. CCA Florida hopes that upgrading will help dispel the public misconception that manatee populations are declining, the misrepresentation which is being spread by manatee and animal rights groups. In addition, we hope that upgrading would cause greater scrutiny on future proposals to highly restrict public access in coastal waters.

11) As a criteria for "delisting," environmental and animal rights groups want an annual manatee population growth rate that is greater than the annual growth rate of Florida's human population.

TRUE: In the federal recovery plan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has identified four "benchmark" biological criteria which if achieved, would allow them to upgrade and reclassify the manatee from "endangered" to "threatened." One criteria is that manatees must maintain an annual population growth rate equal to or greater than zero, in other words - not declining. Environmental and animal rights groups blasted the USFWS decision and claim that the criteria must be a 4 percent or greater growth rate. However, it is difficult to believe that manatees could sustain growth rates that are higher than Florida's human population annual growth rate of 2.35 percent.(9) Manatee populations have substantially increased and in some areas have exceeded a 4 percent growth rate, but they cannot continue to expand without limit. Population growth curves for animals do not increase forever. Eventually, the animals reach carrying capacity with their environment and the growth curve becomes flat. Populations then fluctuate up and down around a stable level. If the benchmark criteria is changed to 4 percent, the affect will be that the manatees' "endangered" classification can never be modified. Florida manatees exist at the most northern extreme of their temperature tolerance. Manatee populations have become dependent upon, and artificially expanded by, the creation of man-made thermal refuges such as power plant warm water discharge areas. Population carrying capacity will eventually become limited during very cold winters by the amount of available forage within the vicinity of the thermal refuges.

12) CCA Florida supports increased law enforcement, public education and angler awareness programs to provide additional protection for manatees.

TRUE: We have always supported these measures and the overall goal of recovering and maintaining healthy manatee populations for all future generations to enjoy. CCA Florida is not proposing any actions that would undermine the continuing recovery of Florida manatees. No one in CCA wants any harm to come to manatees. We firmly believe that recreational fishing and manatee conservation are compatible activities and that management measures can be developed which allow both to survive.

PREPARED BY: CCA Florida
For more information contact
Ted Forsgren - Executive Director
(850) 224-3474

REFERENCES

1. Fraser, Thomas H. 2001. Manatees in Florida: 2001. A report to CCA Florida - March 29, 2001.

2. State of Florida, 2001. Chapter 68C-22, Florida Administrative Code - Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Regulations for Manatee Speed Zones and Refuges.

3. Save the Manatee Club. 2000. "Environmental and Animal Protection Groups Announce Federal Lawsuits to Save Manatees." Press Release - January 2000.

4. Save the Manatee Club. 2001. "Landmark Settlement Agreement May Pull Manatees Back From Brink of Extinction." Press Release - January 2001.

5. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2001. "Record Number of Manatees Counted in 2001." Press Release - January 10, 2001.

6. Vallee, Judith. 2001. Save the Manatee Club - Executive Director. Article - Citrus County Chronicle - October 30, 2001.

7. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 2001. Florida Marine Research Institute - Manatee Mortality and Recovery Information. St. Petersburg, FL.

8. Hankla, David. 2001. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Personal Communication. October 2001.

9. U.S. Department of Commerce. U.S. Census Bureau: Census 2000 Florida Data

OTHER MANATEE PAPERS BY CCA FLORIDA

CCA Florida Scientific Report on Status of Florida Manatees by Thomas Fraser Ph.D. -- March 23, 2001

CCA Florida Releases Revealing Scientific Report on Status of Florida Manatees -- March 27, 2001

CCA Florida Comments on Manatee Settlement Agreement -- April 23, 2001

CCA Florida Requests Florida Commission to Re-evaluate Biological Status of Manatees -- August 20, 2001