Manatees are still endangered, despite recent reports
West Indian manatees are no longer endangered in Florida, thanks to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Florida manatee’s status was recently reclassified to threatened as opposed to endangered.
Though this might seem like a good thing, wildlife activists strongly disagree. This decision comes after only a small increase in manatee populations. Currently, the manatee population is only at 6,620 in Florida’s vast waters.
Activist organizations such as Save the Manatee Club strive to educate members that this reclassification comes too soon.
“We believe this is a devastating blow to manatees,” said Patrick Rose, executive director for Save the Manatee Club, in a statement.
“A federal reclassification at this time will seriously undermine the chances of securing the manatee’s long-term survival,” he added.
Manatees are still in danger. The Center for Biological Diversity noted that 2016 was the deadliest year to date for manatees.
“With ongoing threats posed by boat strikes and habitat loss, we don’t support reducing protections,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director for the center in a statement posted on their website.
Though it’s a positive thing that the population is steadily increasing, people need to be aware that this reclassification shouldn’t mean that protections of manatees need to be revoked.
This move can be seen as politically motivated.
“With the new federal administration threatening to cut 75 percent of regulations, including those that protect our wildlife and air and water quality, the move to down list manatees can only be seen as a political one,” Rose said.
The change in the manatee’s status comes from an analysis by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Their claim of a “notable population increase” has upset environmentalists because they believe manatee killings have increased and that the analysis was incomplete because it failed to include the number of manatees killed by boat propellers.
Officials have stated that the reclassification of the manatee won’t interfere with federal and state protections for the animals and instead argue that the change represents the hard work many have done to increase the manatee population.
The best thing people can do – especially those who don’t live in Florida – is to pay attention to news like this.
It’s imperative that college students pay as much attention to environmental issues as they do political issues. In this way, politicians and agencies can be held accountable for policy changes that have significant impacts on ecosystems and animals such as the West Indian manatee.
