# Florida Manatee Recovery Plan ( Trichechus manatus latirostris) 

## Third Revision



# U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast RegionDISCLAIMER



### -ii

## DISCLAIMER 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



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## ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 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



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## EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

C URRENT S PECIES S TATUS 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 theeffectiveness 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.

H ABITAT REQUIREMENTS AND L IMITING F ACTORS 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 G OAL 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 C RITERIA 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



### -viA CTIONS N EEDED 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.

D ATE 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.

T OTAL E STIMATED C OST OF RECOVERY Based on information provided by our recovery partners, current annual estimated budget expenditures for recovery approach $10,000,000.TABLE OF CONTENTS



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## TABLE 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 P OPULATION S IZE ......................................................... 8 O PTIMUM S USTAINABLE P OPULATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 D ETERMINATION OF P OPULATION S TATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 C URRENT S TATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 C AUSES OF D EATH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 T HREATS TO H ABITAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 WARM WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 O THER HABITAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 C ONTAMINANTS AND P OLLUTION E FFECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 I. PAST AND ONGOING CONSERVATION EFFORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 E FFORTS TO REDUCE WATERCRAFT -RELATED I NJURIES AND D EATHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 E FFORTS TO REDUCE F LOOD GATE AND N AVIGATION L OCK D EATHS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 H ABITAT P ROTECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 M ANATEE RESCUE , REHABILITATION , AND RELEASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 P UBLIC E DUCATION , AWARENESS , AND S UPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102TABLE 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38LIST 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 GroupLIST 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 IndustryLIST 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 ° degreesFLORIDA 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 MANATEEHILLSBOROUGH 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 PlanPREFACE



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## PREFACE

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.