Florida Manatee Recovery Plan

(Trichechus manatus latirostris)

Third Revision

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Southeast Region


DISCLAIMER 

-iiDISCLAIMER

Recovery plans delineate reasonable actions believed to be required to recover and/or protect listed species.

Plans published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), are sometimes prepared with the assistance

of recovery teams, contractors, state agencies, and other affected and interested parties. Recovery teams

serve as independent advisors to FWS. Plans are reviewed by the public and submitted to additional peer

review before they are adopted by FWS. Objectives of the plan will be attained and any necessary funds

made available subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need

to address other priorities. Recovery plans do not obligate other parties to undertake specific tasks and may

not represent the views nor the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in the

plan formulation, other than FWS. They represent the official position of FWS only after they have been

signed by the Regional Director as approved. Approved recovery plans are subject to modification as

dictated by new findings, changes in species status, and the completion of recovery tasks.

By approving this document, the Regional Director will certify that the data used in its development represent

the best scientific and commercial data available at the time it was written. Copies of all documents

reviewed in development of the plan are available in the administrative record located at U.S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive, South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216. (904) 232-2580.

LITERATURE CITATION SHOULD READ AS FOLLOWS:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2001. Florida Manatee Recovery Plan, (Trichechus manatus latirostris),

Third Revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Atlanta, Georgia. 144 pp. + appendices.

ADDITIONAL COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM:

Fish and Wildlife Reference Service

5430 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110

Bethesda, Maryland 20814

(301) 492-6403 or 1-800-582-3421

Fees for plans vary depending upon the number of pages.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

-iiiACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FWS gratefully acknowledges the commitment and efforts of the following individuals to the recovery of

the Florida manatee. Without their assistance and the dynamic discussions at recovery team meetings, this

revision would not have been possible.

David Arnold*

Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission

Kipp Frohlich

Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission

Jack Jackson*

 Vero’s Tackle and Sport

Elmar Kurzbach*

U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers

David Laist*

Marine Mammal

Commission

 Lynn Lefebvre*

U.S. Geological Service

Tom Linley*

Florida Department of

Environmental Protection

Liz Manners

U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers

Dave Murphy*

Lowry Park Zoological Park

and Gardens

Winifred Perkins*

Florida Power and Light

Company

Duncan Powell*

U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency

Buddy Powell*

Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission

(now with the Wildlife Trust)

John Reynolds*

Eckerd College/Marine

Mammal Commission

(now with Mote Marine

Laboratory)

Pat Riley*

Southwest Florida Marine

Industry Association &

Centennial Harbor Marina

Pat Rose*

Save the Manatee Club

Patti Thompson

Save the Manatee Club

Andy VanOs*

Florida Citizen

Leslie Ward

Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission

Randall Wells*

Chicago Zoological

Society/Mote Marine

Laboratory

Barb Zoodsma*

Georgia Department of

Natural Resources

Additional thanks go to the

following for their technical

assistance and in drafting many

sections of this document: 

Bruce Ackerman, Karen Ausley,

Cathy Beck, Heather Carolan,

Lt. Bob Clarke, Karen Estock,

Dean Easton, Derek Fagone,

Cathy Langtimm, Ron Mezich,

Tom Pitchford, Sara Shapiro,

and Kent Smith;

and to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service staff:

Gloria Bell, Pete Benjamin,

Bill Brooks*, 

Cindy Dohner, Dave Flemming,

Dave Hankla, Joyce Kleen, 

Jim Kraus*, Elizabeth

Souheaver, Cam Shaw, 

Jay Slack, Linda Walker, Jim

Valade, Noreen Walsh, Grant

Webber* and Dawn Zattau.

*Appointed Recovery Team

members have an asterisk

by their name.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-ivEXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CURRENT SPECIES STATUS

Endangered. The near and long term threats from human-related activities are the reasons for which the

Florida manatee currently necessitates protection under the Endangered Species Act. The focus of recovery

is not on how many manatees exist, but instead the focus is on implementing, monitoring and addressing the

effectiveness of conservation measures to reduce or remove threats which will lead to a healthy and selfsustaining population. The Florida manatee could be considered for reclassification from endangered to

threatened provided that threats can be reduced or removed, and that the population trend is stable or

increasing for a sufficient time period.

HABITAT REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITING FACTORS

The Florida manatee lives in freshwater, brackish and marine habitats. Submerged, emergent, and floating

vegetation are their preferred food. During the winter, cold temperatures keep the population concentrated

in peninsular Florida and many manatees rely on the warm water from natural springs and power plant

outfalls. During the summer they expand their range and on rare occasions are seen as far north as Rhode

Island on the Atlantic coast and as far west as Texas on the Gulf coast.

The most significant problem presently faced by manatees in Florida is death or injury from boat strikes. The

long-term availability of warm-water refuges for manatees is uncertain if minimum flows and levels are not

established for the natural springs on which many manatees depend, and as deregulation of the power

industry in Florida occurs. Their survival will depend on maintaining the integrity of ecosystems and habitat

sufficient to support a viable manatee population.

RECOVERY GOAL

The goal of this revised recovery plan is to assure the long-term viability of the Florida manatee in the wild,

allowing initially for reclassification to threatened status and, ultimately, removal from the List of

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife.

RECOVERY CRITERIA

This plan sets forth criteria, which when met, will ensure a healthy, self-sustaining population of manatees

in Florida by reducing or removing threats to the species’ existence. 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-vThe following criteria must be met prior to reclassification of the Florida manatee from endangered to

threatened (downlisting):

1. Reduce threats to manatee habitat or range, as well as threats from natural and manmade factors by:

- identifying minimum spring flows;

- protecting selected warm-water refuge sites;

- identifying for protection foraging habitat associated with the warm-water refuge sites;

- identifying for protection other important manatee areas; and

- reducing unauthorized human caused “take.”

2. Achieve the following population benchmarks in each of the four regions over the most recent 10

year period of time: 

- statistical confidence that the average annual rate of adult survival is 90% or greater;

- statistical confidence that the average annual percentage of adult female manatees

 accompanied by first or second year calves in winter is at least 40%; and

- statistical confidence that the average annual rate of population growth is equal to or greater

 than zero.

The following criteria must be met prior to removal of the Florida manatee from the List of Endangered

and Threatened Wildlife (delisting):

1. Reduce or remove threats to manatee habitat or range, as well as threats from natural and manmade

factors by enacting and implementing federal, state or local regulations that:

- adopt and maintain minimum spring flows;

- protect warm-water refuge sites;

- protect foraging habitat associated with select warm-water refuge sites;

- protect other important manatee areas; and

- reduce or remove unauthorized human caused “take.”

2. Achieve the following population benchmarks in each of the four regions for an additional 10 years

after reclassification: 

- statistical confidence that the average annual rate of adult survival is 90% or greater;

- statistical confidence that average annual percentage of adult female manatees accompanied

 by first or second year calves in winter is at least 40%; and

- statistical confidence that average annual rate of population growth is equal to or greater

 than zero.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-viACTIONS NEEDED

1. Minimize causes of manatee disturbance, harassment, injury and mortality.

2. Determine and monitor the status of the manatee population.

3. Protect, identify, evaluate, and monitor manatee habitats.

4. Facilitate manatee recovery through public awareness and education.

DATE OF RECOVERY

Currently, in some regions of the state, there are only reliable population data for the past 6 years. Therefore,

full recovery may not be possible for at least another 14 years in order to meet the standard of assessing the

population over the most recent 10 years of data for reclassification from endangered to threatened status and

for an additional 10 years after reclassification for removal from the List of Endangered and Threatened

Wildlife. Time is also needed to establish and implement management initiatives to reduce or remove the

threats.

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST OF RECOVERY

Based on information provided by our recovery partners, current annual estimated budget expenditures for

recovery approach $10,000,000.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

-viiTABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii

PART I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................ 1

OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

A. TAXONOMY ................................................................ 6

B. SPECIES DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

C. POPULATION BIOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

POPULATION SIZE ......................................................... 8

OPTIMUM SUSTAINABLE POPULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

DETERMINATION OF POPULATION STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

CURRENT STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

D. DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT USE PATTERNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

E. BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

F. FEEDING ECOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

G. REPRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

H. THREATS TO THE SPECIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

CAUSES OF DEATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

THREATS TO HABITAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

WARM WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

OTHER HABITAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

CONTAMINANTS AND POLLUTION EFFECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

I. PAST AND ONGOING CONSERVATION EFFORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

EFFORTS TO REDUCE WATERCRAFT-RELATED INJURIES AND DEATHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

EFFORTS TO REDUCE FLOOD GATE AND NAVIGATION LOCK DEATHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

HABITAT PROTECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

MANATEE RESCUE, REHABILITATION, AND RELEASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

PUBLIC EDUCATION, AWARENESS, AND SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

PART II. RECOVERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

A. STATUS REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

B. RECOVERY CRITERIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

C. OUTLINE OF RECOVERY ACTIONS ADDRESSING THREATS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

D. NARRATIVE OUTLINE OF RECOVERY ACTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Objective 1: Minimize causes of manatee disturbance, harassment, injury and mortality 54

Objective 2: Determine and monitor the status of the manatee population . . . . . . . . . . 67

Objective 3: Protect, identify, evaluate, and monitor manatee habitats . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Objective 4: Facilitate manatee recovery through public awareness and education . . . 98

E. LITERATURE CITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
TABLE OF CONTENTS

-viiiPART III. IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

PART IV. APPENDICES

A. MPSWG’s Recommendation of Population Benchmarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1

B. Research Plan to Determine and Monitor the Status of Manatee Populations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1

C. Florida Manatee Cause of Death by Region, 1991-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C1

D. MPSWG’s Florida Manatee Status Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D1

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Estimates of manatee life history traits and related statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Table 2 Florida manatee population status summaries by region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Table 3 Known manatee mortality in the southeastern United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Table 4 Published population benchmark values for each region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A1

Table 5 Manatee deaths in Florida, 1991-2000, by 4 regions and statewide. All size classes . . . . . C3

Table 6 Manatee deaths in Florida, 1991-2000, by 4 regions and statewide. 

Adult-only size class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Florida manatee generalized regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Figure 2 Mother manatee nursing a calf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Figure 3 Manatees aggregated during a winter cold front at a power plant warm-water outfall in

Titusville, Florida .......................................................... 8

Figure 4 Manatee synoptic survey total, West coast and East coast counts, 1991-2001 ........... 9

Figure 5 Catalogued female Florida manatee SB 79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Figure 6 Florida manatee population distribution among regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Figure 7 General winter distribution and warm-water manatee aggregation sites in the 

southeastern United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Figure 8 Manatee aggregation at power plant warm-water outfall in Titusville, Florida . . . . . . . . . 19

Figure 9 Mating herd in Plummers Cove, St. Johns River, Jacksonville, Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Figure 10 Florida manatee deaths from 1976 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Figure 11 Several of the 145 manatees that died during the red tide mortality event,

Southwest Florida 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Figure 12 Florida manatee watercraft deaths from 1976 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Figure 13 Three Sisters Spring Manatee Sanctuary, Crystal River, Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Figure 14 Water control structure retrofitted with pressure sensitive technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Figure 15 Locations of participants in the manatee rescue, rehabilitation, and release program. . . . . 37

Figure 16 Manatee rescue, rehabilitation, and release program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

-ixFigure 17 Manatee deaths in Florida by cause, 1991-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4

Figure 18 Manatee deaths in the Northwest Region of Florida by cause, 1991-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5

Figure 19 Manatee deaths in the Southwest Region of Florida by cause, 1991-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . C5

Figure 20 Manatee deaths in the Upper St. Johns River Region of Florida by cause, 1991-2000 . . . . C6

Figure 21 Manatee deaths in the Atlantic Coast Region of Florida by cause, 1991-2000 . . . . . . . . . . C6

LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

The following standard abbreviations for units of measurements and other scientific/technical acronyms and

terms are found throughout this document:

BPSM Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 

Bureau of Protected Species Management

CERP Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan

CFR Code of Federal Regulations

COE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

CZS Chicago Zoological Society

DERM Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

ESA Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended

FDEP Florida Department of Environmental Protection

FDNR Florida Department of Natural Resources

FIND Florida Inland Navigation District

FMRI Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 

Florida Marine Research Institute

FPL Florida Power and Light Company

FR Federal Register

FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

FWC-DLE Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

 Division of Law Enforcement

FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

GDNR Georgia Department of Natural Resources

GIS Geographic Information System

GPS Global Positioning System

HBOI Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute

HWG Habitat Working Group

IOWG Interagency Oceanaria Working Group
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

-xLOA Letter of Authorization

LE Law Enforcement

MIPS Manatee Individual Photo-Identification System

MML Mote Marine Laboratory

MMPA Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended

MMPL Marine Mammal Pathology Lab

MNPL Maximum net productivity level

MPP Manatee Protection Plan

MPS Manatee protection system

MPSWG Manatee Population Status Working Group

NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NPDES National Pollution Discharge Elimination System

NPS National Park Service

NSAV Native submerged aquatic vegetation

NWR National Wildlife Refuge

OC The Ocean Conservancy (formerly the Center for Marine Conservation)

OSP Optimum Sustainable Population

PIT Passive Integrated Transponder

SAV Submerged aquatic vegetation

SMC Save the Manatee Club

USCG U.S. Coast Guard

USGS-Sirenia U.S. Geological Survey, Sirenia Project

USN U.S. Navy

VHF Very high frequency

WMD’s Water Management Districts

C Fish Industry Commercial Fishing Industry

Local Gov’ts Local Governments

M Industry Marine Industries

Oceanaria Cincinnati Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, Living Seas, Lowry

Park Zoo, Miami Seaquarium, Mote Marine Laboratory, Sea World Florida and

California, South Florida Museum

Photo-ID Photo-identification

P Industry Power Industries

R Fish Industry Recreational Fishing Industry
LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

-xiC Centigrade

cm centimeters

ft feet

hrs hours

K carrying capacity

kg kilograms

km kilometers

lbs pounds

m meters

mi miles

min minutes

ppm parts per million

% percent

 less than or equal to

° degrees
FLORIDA COASTAL COUNTIES AND OTHER SITES REFERENCED IN PLAN

-xiiLower St. Johns River

#

#

Crystal River National

Wildlife Refuge/Kings Bay

#

Suwannee River

Wakulla River

#

#

Tampa Bay

#

Homosassa Springs/

Homosassa River

#

Caloosahatchee River

#

Okeechobee Waterway #

Ten Thousand Islands #

Whitewater Bay

#

Biscayne Bay

#

Dry Tortugas

#

Warm Mineral Springs #

Charlotte Harbor

#

Lake Worth

#

St. Lucie Lock

#

Hobe Sound

Taylor Creek Lock #

#

Sebastian River

#

Indian River Lagoon

#

Banana River

#

Port Canaveral Lock

#

Merritt Island National

Wildlife Refuge

#

S-27

#

S-25B

#

Blue Spring

#

Upper St. Johns River

LEE

COLLIE R

BREVA RD

CITRUS

DAD E

BROWARD

DUV AL

PALM 

BEACH

NASSA U

ST. 

JOHNS

FLAGLER

VOLUS IA

IN DIAN

RIVER

ST. 

LUCIE

MARTIN

MON ROE

CHA RLOTTE

SARAS OTA

MANATEE

HILLSBOROUGH

PIN ELLAS

PASCO

HERNAN DO

LEVY

DIXIE

TAYLOR

WAKULLA

#

Inglis Lock/Lake Rousseau

#

#

Rodman Reservoir/Buckman Lock/

Kirkpatrick Dam

#

Palatka

Florida Coastal Counties and Other Sites 

Referenced in the Florida Manatee Recovery Plan
PREFACE

-xiiiPREFACE

This Florida Manatee Recovery Plan revision adds new and refines existing recovery program activities for

the next five years. The Recovery Plan is composed of four major sections:

1. Introduction: This section acquaints the reader with the Florida manatee, its status, the threats it faces,

and past and ongoing conservation efforts. It also serves as a review of the biological literature for this

subspecies.

2. Recovery: This section describes the goal of the plan; outlines an upcoming status review; presents

reclassification and delisting criteria based upon the five listing/recovery factors and population

benchmarks to assist in evaluating the status; objectives, strategy and actions or tasks needed to achieve

recovery. These recovery tasks are presented in step-down outline format for quick reference and in a

narrative outline, organized by four major objectives: (1) minimize causes of manatee disturbance,

harassment, injury and mortality; (2) determine and monitor the status of the manatee population; (3)

protect, identify, evaluate, and monitor manatee habitats; and (4) facilitate manatee recovery through

public awareness and education.

3. Implementation Schedule: This section presents the recovery tasks from the step down outline in table

format; assigns priorities to the tasks; estimates the time necessary to complete the tasks; identifies

parties with authority, responsibility, or expressed interest in implementation of the tasks; and estimates

the cost of the tasks and recovery program.

4. Appendices: This section presents additional information utilized by the FWS and Recovery Team to

draft this revision.