EcoWatch: News reports ignore perinatal manatee deaths
“Consider the number of manatee deaths so far this year. Redesignating the manatee as endangered, which provides for the highest levels of federal protection and conservation efforts, is critical.”
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.)
In 2021, Congressman Buchanan wrote the above quote when 1,101 manatees died, and now as of 2024, the manatee still has not been placed on the endangered species list, and they are still dying.
As of Sept. 4, 2024, a total of 435 manatees have died with 131 of these being perinatal, or baby manatees. It is the death of a fetus or newborn that occurs during the perinatal period, which is the time between 22 weeks of gestation and seven days after birth.
Why these baby manatees die is another disheartening story. According to Beth Brady, a marine biologist and senior science and conservation associate with the Longwood, Fla.- based Save the Manatee Club,
“There was a series of harmful algae blooms that basically shaded out and destroyed the majority of the sea grasses, and many of the baby manatees starved to death.” She also added that one more baby manatee had died, for a total of 131 dead baby manatees, so far.
In many parts of Florida, including our Southwest area, there were very few news reports of the deaths of these 131 baby manatees in Florida. On Aug. 23, 2024, a Flyover article was published, stating, “Three years ago, manatees in Florida were dying in record numbers. Now their babies are dying too. That is nearly twice the five-year average to date, and more than any other entire year in state records dating back to 1974.”
The first report on the deaths of manatees appeared in local papers on Sept. 16, 2024. Why the lack of coverage? It seems as if Florida is becoming resigned to manatees dying.
We, in many ways, are responsible for their deaths. The government, businesses, farmers and yes, us. It is mind-boggling how in this day and age, with all the resources we have to tap into, we are unable to keep a species such as the Florida manatee in a clean, safe environment. And yet, it is obvious we cannot or will not. Now it is time again to seek the protection of the Endangered Species Act.
The Center for Biological Diversity has launched a lawsuit over federal failure to protect manatees in Florida and Puerto Rico. As of March 21, 2024, environmental advocates notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to sue for the agency’s failure to respond to a request for stronger Endangered Species Act protection for West Indian manatees in Florida and Puerto Rico. The notice was sent by Harvard Law School’s Animal Law Policy Clinic on behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, Save the Manatee Club, Miami Waterkeeper and Frank S. Gonzalez Garcia.
“We are hopeful that, given the many threats to the West Indian manatee, including seagrass loss and the impending loss of warm water refugia, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will quickly issue a finding, as required under the Endangered Species Act,” said Sophia Pereira, a student attorney at Harvard’s Animal Law and Policy Clinic.
“A positive 12-month finding would serve as an important signal that the agency both acknowledges that manatees are facing substantial and intensifying threats, and that the service is willing to take the necessary steps to safeguard their survival,” said Jonathan Smith, a student attorney with the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Clinic.
Today’s legal notice follows a November 2022 petition urging the service to reclassify West Indian manatees from threatened to endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The service had 12 months to decide whether uplisting the manatee is warranted, but after 16 months the agency has yet to issue the finding. Relisting the West Indian manatee as an endangered species would provide greater protection for the imperiled manatee.
The service previously issued a positive 90-day finding indicating the petition presented substantial information that uplisting may be warranted. The agency found that seagrass losses from water pollution may pose threats to the manatees such that they may again warrant protection as an endangered species.
Other dangers to the manatee include pollution-fueled algae blooms, water-quality declines from excess nutrient pollution and groundwater pumping, leaving the manatee dependent on these man-made refugia. Many natural warm water sources are also impeded by manmade structures like the Rodman/Kirpatrick dam on the Ocklawaha River.
Patrick Rose, an aquatic biologist and executive director of Save the Manatee Club said, “Having served on each of the Manatee Recovery Teams and numerous expert working groups over several decades, I implore the service to redesignate and empower a new expert recovery team with designated expert working groups, to take on the monumental task of quelling the escalating threats and risks to the manatees’ future survival.”
It is also important that people get involved and let the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service know that placing the manatee on the Endangered Species List is vital to their survival.
email: gaiasvigil@gmail.com
