More Florida manatees died in 2015 than the previous year. State wildlife officials released the report Monday. These numbers come as federal wildlife officials want to downgrade manatee protections from “federally endangered” to “threatened” in the state.
405 manatees died last year. Deaths by watercrafts have been steadily declining during the last three years, but 2015 saw 86 of them compared to 69 the year before. Chuck Underwood is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He said the manatees' level of protection is not based on year-to-year numbers. It’s about watching the trends for more than a decade.
"Because we see a spike, we may ask ourselves why and talk with experts to try to figure out the reason why deaths spiked that year," said Underwood. "So the number in of itself won’t make a decision but be considered part of the trend."
He said numbers show the manatee is not currently on the brink of extinction. And that means it would only fit the definition of “threatened.” The reclassification proposal is still in the public comment phase until April 7. Federal wildlife officials will likely make a decision about the reclassification by next April. Until then, Underwood said nothing’s changed when it comes to the Florida manatee.
