federal officials asking for public imput on Manatee protection

[reefsavers.org]

federal officials will consider adjusting the protective status of manatees. they are asking for public opinion on the subject and we encourage you to respond pro or con.
http://northflorida.fws.gov/manatee/documents/5-year-review/FR-notice-5-year-review-041405.htm

For updates on this, visit www.reefsavers.org keyword:manatees.

 

[archman]

By "adjust" I assume they mean downgrade? Dang, this is getting absurd.

 

[CBulla]

Aside from a tasty white meat alternative when marinated in Mojo, I'll need time to read the white papers and such on this. I'm pretty staunch when it comes to adjusting the restrictions (especially loosening them) on a species such as the manatee which like its cousin, the elephant, is a slow reproducer and long gestation periods.

Its nice to see the SCIENTISTS finally agreeing with me about the causes of the red tides though! That only took 5 years!!! Maybe my suth'n intellect can lend some input here to.

 

[reefsavers.org]

Hey cbulla Im the kind of person that will get extremely upset at the thought of someone causing harm to a manatee. I know they taste good with mashed potatoes and gravy i've heard them all. I think the manatee has gotten a bad rap Sport Boaters hate them because the manatee zones interfere with their plans. I've never had any manatees holler at me to slow down but if they could talk they probably say more than we can on this board, OOOOH sorry didnt mean to offen anyone. anyhow I appreciate your support of the manatee and hopefully if they do lower the protection status they will allow divers to get closer and maybe we will be able to swim along side with them and holler'
"Slow down" *&*#$@*....hey someone should censor that smiley its too religous ha ha.

 

[archman]

I wouldn't mind seeing an UPGRADE in manatee protective measures, and I'm sure most Floridians wouldn't either. After all, they're "charismatic megafauna". And it's not like the current protective measures are all that satisfactory. The animals are still getting run down by idiot boaters, and killed by unusual ailments.

This thought only just occurred to me. In the face of reduced operating budgets, the feds may be eliciting these public meetings to help BOLSTER their committment to protecting manatees. A vehement public outcry towards manatee protection may be precisely what the Fish & Wildlife folks are out to get. They point to this, and it'll be a hard sell to have their funding and resources diverted. Clever.

 

[Reel Crazy14]

I wouldn't mind seeing an UPGRADE in manatee protective measures, and I'm sure most Floridians wouldn't either. After all, they're "charismatic megafauna". And it's not like the current protective measures are all that satisfactory. The animals are still getting run down by idiot boaters, and killed by unusual ailments.

This thought only just occurred to me. In the face of reduced operating budgets, the feds may be eliciting these public meetings to help BOLSTER their committment to protecting manatees. A vehement public outcry towards manatee protection may be precisely what the Fish & Wildlife folks are out to get. They point to this, and it'll be a hard sell to have their funding and resources diverted. Clever.

I wouldn't really classify manatees as "charismatic", they didnt get the name sea cow for nothing. Also- It's not just idiot boaters, other marine mammals, reptiles and fish move out of the way when they hear the motors coming close. The idiot manatee stays there until it's run over.

 

[archman]

I wouldn't really classify manatees as "charismatic", they didnt get the name sea cow for nothing. Also- It's not just idiot boaters, other marine mammals, reptiles and fish move out of the way when they hear the motors coming close. The idiot manatee stays there until it's run over.

"Charismatic Megafauna" is a popular term ascribed to animal species that enjoy a great deal of positive attention by man. The "charisma" often has little to do with a particular animal's behavior, but more its appearance. Sea cows are "cute" to the general public, they're large and approachable, and this ascribes them greater "value" to the american public regarding protective legislation. Public zoos contain an overabundance of charismatic megafauna, as the layperson prefers them.

Regarding getting run over by boats, if you know anything about sirenian behavior and ecology, you know that they have little reason nor much functional anatomy for speed or maneuverability. Their defense against predators is pure mass, and their food supply does not have to be chased down. Until people came along, this evolutionary strategy worked just fine.

 

[ReefGuy]

When I was a kid, it was not unusual at all to see manatees in the Peace River, just East of the 75 bridges (harbor heights). I haven't seen many in the past 10 years - I know that their population has diminished over the past 25-30 years.

That being said, I'm glad they're doing a study on manatee population, but I do hope that they realize that we have MORE than enough laws protecting the manatee.

I've seen the attitude on this board. After a manatee was hit on memorial day last year (I think), members crying out for tougher laws to save the manatees. More laws are the last thing that we need. The person who killed the manatee was already breaking one law - would more laws have helped?

The real issue is enforcement of existing laws. The problem with enforcement is staffing, and the problem with staffing is budget. The good news is that this problem is not too difficult to solve (if you ignore the political crap).

Florida needs to license boaters. Every single one. The funds from licenses could go to hire more - lots more FWC officers - to enforce laws protecting manatees (and divers, and fishermen, and even swimmers). It'd be nice if we cold do something BEFORE these tragic events (killed manatees, killed divers, swimmers endangered by jetskis roaring past in public swimming areas).

More laws? Don't need them. We just need to put the teeth of enforcement behind the existing ones.

 

[DennisS]

Arrrrrrrgh a license is just another tax on boaters, it will not cure stupidity, carelessness, rudeness or recklessness. I go out on the water to relax and enjoy getting away from it all. The last thing I need is more stops. Yes they routinely stop boaters for no reason, no it isn't pleasant, yes it ruins the experience of being on the water relaxing. All they have to do is catch the ones breaking the law and fine the hell out of them ($500 and up, not $50), word will get around. It's not hard to find the morons driving boats and we don't need to license every boater in the state to get them.

 

[FL_Chad]

I wouldn't mind seeing an UPGRADE in manatee protective measures, and I'm sure most Floridians wouldn't either.

well here is the typical uninformed, I would say FL citizen, but I see your from Texas. The manatee #'s are on the rise according to the last year state count. The Save the Save the Manatee Club has dooped the general public long enough and it has caught up to them.

As far as most Floridians not minding either - that is because most of em just moved here less than 5 years ago and didnt even know what a manatee was before that. The manatee's protection has worked, and the measures put in place currently have worked and that is proven from an increase from the last count, even though the aerial counts are subjective (cloud cover, time of year, wind conditions etc). The manatee is up for delisting because alot of people have worked hard to use real science to disprove SMC lies and tall tales - that cant be disputed.