Environmental Groups Seek to Have Manatees Returned to Endangered Status
Environmental Groups Seek , to Have Manatees Returned , to Endangered Status. On November 21, environmental groups warned that manatees are dying by the hundreds mainly as a result of pollution-driven starvation. The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service seeking to have the animal once again listed as an endangered species. . 'The Independent' reports that according to the group, the manatee being taken off the list in 2017 was an error. . The Fish and Wildlife Service now has the opportunity to correct its mistake and protect these desperately imperiled animals, Ragan Whitlock, Attorney for the Florida-based Center for Biological Diversity, via 'The Independent'. The petition argues that pollution from fertilizer runoff, leaking septic tanks, wastewater discharge and increased development has caused algae blooms. . The petition argues that pollution from fertilizer runoff, leaking septic tanks, wastewater discharge and increased development has caused algae blooms. . These algae blooms have killed a majority of the seagrass on which manatees depend on to survive, particularly off of Florida's east coast. In 2021, a record 1,100 manatees died from starvation, representing 13% of all manatees estimated to dwell in the waters surrounding Florida. So far in 2022, at least 736 manatee deaths had been reported as of November 11. . 'The Independent' reports that putting the manatee back on the endangered list would bolster federal scrutiny, while also providing more resources and expertise to help the problem. . Re-designating manatees as endangered will be a critical first step in righting a terrible wrong, Patrick Rose, Executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, via 'The Independent'
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More than six dozen threatened manatees are currently in rehabilitation centers in Florida and elsewhere amid a chronic starvation problem caused by water pollution.
Dozens of scientists from universities and environmental groups are pushing for the removal of the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, claiming she lacks the educational background needed to run the agency.
In the wake of thousands of Florida manatee deaths in recent years and hundreds this year alone, federal wildlife officials are determining whether to reclassify them as endangered.
