Florida Manatees Denied Endangered Species Protections Despite ‘Ongoing Die-Off’ [Video]

According to a new proposal put forth by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, will remain listed as a threatened species and will be submitted separately for protections from another subspecies, the Antillean manatee. The Antillean manatee has been proposed to be listed as an endangered species.

The proposal determined that although Florida manatees face threats from boat strikes, algal blooms, loss of their food source (seagrasses) and loss of warm-water refuge areas, the subspecies still does not meet the criteria to relist Florida manatees as endangered. 

According to a survey by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Florida manatee population was between 8,350 and 11,730 manatees as of 2021–2022. The Antillean manatee, which has been proposed for an endangered listing, has fewer than 7,000 individuals remaining in the wild.

Florida manatees were formerly considered endangered until they were delisted and labeled threatened under the Endangered Species Act in …