Manatee Awareness - Becoming Endangered Legal Protection

Becoming Endangered Legal Protection

Starting in the 18th century when the English declared Florida a manatee sanctuary and made manatee hunting illegal, people have worked to protect this species. In 1893, manatees first received protection under Florida law, and in 1907 this law was revised to impose a fine of $500 and/or six months of jail time for molesting or killing a manatee. In accordance with the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, an act of Congress designed to list endangered animal species and offer them limited protection, the manatee became one of 78 original species listed as being threatened with extinction. There are currently more than 1300 species on this list. On March 11, 1967 federal efforts to protect the manatee began when the United States Fish and Wildlife Service listed the manatee as endangered.

In 1972, the manatee was designated a marine mammal protected under the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. This act prohibited the removal of any marine mammal and imposed a fine of up to $2000 and/or one year in jail for doing so. The Endangered Species Act of 1966 was revised in 1973 and increased federal protection of manatees. The “act made it a violation to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, capture, or collect an endangered species…authorized cooperative agreements between states and the federal government with funding management, research and law enforcement.”

In 1974 the Sirenia Project was established in Gainesville, Florida to provide manatee documentation and rescue programs. In 1976, Sea World of Florida began a Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Program. The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act passed in 1978, amending the 1907 state law. Florida became an official refuge and sanctuary for the marine mammals, and the regulation of boat speeds in areas of manatee inhabitation became allowed. In that same year, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Florida Audubon Society, and Sea World also sponsored the “West Indian Manatee Workshop” in which six management recommendations were proposed: regulations to control boaters and divers, land acquisition for refuges, study of potential artificial refuges, explore technological control mechanisms to protect manatees, develop oil spill contingency plans, and increase public education.

In 1979, Florida Governor Bob Graham made November Manatee Awareness Month, and the first state-designated protection zones were established. The year 1980 saw Congress allocate $100, 000 to the Marine Mammal Commission and the development of the initial Federal Manatee Recovery Plan by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1981 Bob Graham and Jimmy Buffett formed the Save the Manatee Committee, the precursor of the Save the Manatee Club, which sought to protect manatees and their habitats. Both the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act were reauthorized in 1988 as various new groups, companies, and organizations began to invest time and resources in the protection of the manatee. The early 1990s saw more government money being allocated to the cause, more research being conducted, and more protection plans being implemented.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised the Manatee Recovery Plan Objectives in 1996 to include the following: assess and minimize causes of manatee mortality and injury, protect essential habitat, determine and monitor the status of the manatee population and essential habitat, coordinate and oversee cooperative recovery work. Throughout the early 2000s (decade), various counties in Florida continued to revise and/or create specific conservation plans in conjunction with federal and state-wide efforts.