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.
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'The Independent' reports that according to the group, the manatee being taken off the list in 2017 was an error.
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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.
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'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.
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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'
