U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) this week requested that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) upgrade the manatee from “threatened” to “endangered” under the federal Endangered Species Act, which protects at-risk species from extinction.
“Manatees are beloved, iconic mammals in Florida,” Rep. Buchanan said. “We should provide these gentle giants with the highest levels of federal protection.”
The congressman made his request in a June 14 letter sent to Martha Williams, the U.S. Interior Department Principal Deputy Director for the FWS, which estimates there are roughly 6,500 Florida manatees living in the southeastern United States. Currently, FWS data reports that 761 manatees have died, a number that is expected to outpace the previous record set in 2018 when a total of 804 manatees died, wrote Rep. Buchanan.
“We should be doing everything in our power to protect them and ensure their continued survival,” Rep. Buchanan wrote. “Considering 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.”
Many marine biologists and conservationists also agree that the main reasons for the growing death rate of manatees is the degradation of the water quality in manatee habitats, growing levels of water pollution and an increase of harmful algal blooms that kill off seagrass, according to the congressman’s letter.
“As seagrass disappears, manatees starve to death,” he wrote. “Wildlife observers noted earlier this year that many of the dead manatees washing up on the shores were seriously emaciated.”
When manatees faced extinction in the late 1960s, the lawmaker said that it took decades for them to recover under the regime of protections provided for in the Endangered Species Act. “I urge you to re-designate the manatee as endangered to ensure the survival of these gentle giants,” wrote Rep. Buchanan. “Time is of the essence.”