| A.
|
The
Florida Manatee Recovery Plan is coordinated by the U.S Fish
and Wildlife Service and sets forth a list of tasks geared
toward recovering manatees from their current endangered status.
These tasks include: the development of site-specific boat
speed zones for manatee protection, implementation of management
plans, posting of regulatory speed signs, levying fines for
excessive speed in designated areas, public acquisition of
critical habitat, creation of sanctuaries, manatee research,
and education and public awareness programs.
In
October of 1989, Florida's Governor and Cabinet also directed
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to work
with thirteen "key" manatee counties to implement
measures for reducing manatee injuries and deaths. These counties
include: Duval, Volusia, Citrus, Brevard, Indian River, St.
Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, Collier, Lee and
Sarasota. Historically, most of the human-related manatee
mortality has occurred in these counties. The first task of
these 13 county governments, working with the state, was to
develop site-specific boat speed zones for manatee protection.
Their second task is to develop comprehensive manatee protection
plans. Among other things, these manatee protection plans
will include a boat facility siting element, manatee sighting
and mortality information, identification of land acquisition
projects for manatee protection, law enforcement coordination,
and an education and public awareness program.
|
| A.
|
The
Florida Manatee Recovery Plan was developed as a requirement
of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The recovery
plan must present objective and measurable recovery criteria
and site-specific management actions to minimize or remove
threats to the Florida manatee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (USFWS) must, to the maximum extent practicable,
incorporate into each recovery plan objective measurable
criteria which, when met, would result in a determination
that the species be removed from the list of endangered
and threatened species. In designating these criteria, the
USFWS must address the five statutory listing/recovery factors
and measure whether threats to the species have been ameliorated
or improved. The five listing recovery factors are:
| 1.
|
The
present or threatened destruction, modification or curtailment
of a species' habitat or range. |
| 2.
|
Overutilization
for commercial, recreational, scientific or educational
purposes. |
| 3.
|
Disease
or predation. |
| 4. |
The
inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms. |
| 5.
|
Other
natural or man-made factors affecting its continued
existence. |
|
| A.
|
We
agree that propeller guards are a good idea to protect manatees,
but only if used along with other protection measures, such
as boat speed zones and habitat protection.
The
use of prop guards has been suggested as a way to reduce manatee
mortality for several years. But prop guards alone are not
a solution. The majority of manatees killed by boats are killed
by collision with the boat hull. According to statistics collected
by the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI), 60 percent
of manatee deaths are caused by hull impact, and 40 percent
are caused by propeller wounds. Prop guards on fast-moving
boats can kill or injure manatees through blunt trauma; just
as a collision with the boat hull can be fatal. Also prop
guards used in shallow water could dredge the bottom and damage
sea grasses that manatees eat. The bottom line -- it is the
speed of the vessel that kills.
If
prop guards were made mandatory along with additional boat
speed zones, an adequate enforcement effort, and enhanced
habitat protection, they would serve a useful purpose. However,
prop guards alone would not provide adequate protection.
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