According to reports, almost 1,100 manatees were killed in 2021.
March 3, 2022 at 11:36 PM
5 minutes read
Environmental groups filed a suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alleged that the agency failed to protect Florida manatee habitats, as the species is facing increasing deaths.
Nearly 1,100 manatees were killed in 2021. This is about 20% of the east-coast manatee population. According to a lawsuitFilled by Save the Manatee Club and the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife.
We now have nearly 300 [die]ABC News spoke with Patrick Rose, an aquatic biologist in 2022. Rose is the executive Director of Save the Manatee Club. The non-profit organization founded in 1981 by Jimmy Buffet is dedicated to the protection and preservation of manatees.
According to the group, manatee waterways, such as the Indian River Lagoon in Florida’s east coast, have been contaminated for years by sewage that has not been properly treated, fertilizer that has been added to the water, and septic tanks that have failed.
This excess nutrient causes algal blooms so severe that they shade out the seagrass manatees depend on. Rose stated that the seagrass died.
Manatees usually consume 100 to 200 lbs of seagrass and other plants each day, or about 10-20% their body weight. The manatees have been starving due to the lack of seagrass. In 2021, the U.S Fish and Wildlife declared that there were a high number of manatee deaths. Unusual mortality event.
According to the lawsuit, Florida manatees were first listed as endangered species in 1967. However, in 1976, the USFWS designated critical habitats where manatees can be found. Critical habitats are defined as areas that have important biological and/or physical features for the survival or enhancement of a species.
Rose stated that when the critical habitat was created, the habitat’s most important components, such the seagrass were not considered.
According to the lawsuit, however, the critical habitat designation of the manatee was changed by the USFWS and Congress in 2008 due to new scientific information and updated Congressional definitions of critical habits.
Environmental groups requested that USFWS updates the term in 2008. The agency agreed, but the lawsuit states that they never followed up.
The U.S. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declined to comment on ABC News’ request.
Rose stated that Save the Manatee Club hopes the USFWS would “work with us now to ensure seagrasses are better protected to prevent further devastating losses of so many manatees because of the continued loss of seagrasses which are literally critical to the future survival of these animals.”
Save the Manatee also appeals to the United States Environmental Protection Agency to improve water quality standards, so that seagrass doesn’t continue to die due to pollution.
Rose stated, “Ultimately, we believe that both the Endangered Species Act (and the Clean Water Act) must be used to ensure that manatees remain protected today and for the foreseeable into the future.”
If the court rules in favor the environmental groups, it will result higher standards and harsher penalties for polluting waters that kill seagrass. Rose stated that the manatees’ ecosystems and the standards they must meet will continue to be at risk until these standards are raised.
