Released: April 6, 2000

Preliminary information received from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reveals excessively high manatee mortality from boat collisions and other causes for the first quarter of 2000. Although 1999 was the worst year on record for the number of manatees killed from boat collisions (82), the first three months of 2000 make the 1999 statistics pale by comparision. One hundred manatees have already died in state waters from all causes.

SMC representatives say this unacceptably high level of mortality -- 32 manatees killed by boats alone so far this year -- constitutes a state of emergency and are asking Florida Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida State Legislature to appropriate funds for additional on-water law enforcement and other comprehensive protection measures.

"If the number of manatees killed by boat collisions keeps up at this pace, by year's end we will have far exceeded last year's total," said Judith Vallee, SMC Executive Director. "Florida's manatees just can't keep sustaining these major losses without it causing irreparable harm to the entire wild population."

While the Florida Legislature is in session, SMC is asking Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida House and Senate to take immediate action to ensure that more law enforcement officers can be deployed in "hot spots" where manatee mortality is high and in areas that manatees frequent.

"With too few law enforcement officers in the new Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state has historically relied on voluntary boater compliance," said Patrick Rose, SMC Director of Government Relations. "Clearly, this approach is just not working. The level of compliance with manatee boat speed zones is not high enough to curtail the ever-increasing trend in manatee mortality. We are imploring the Governor and the Legislature to take immediate action now to ensure a sufficient number of on-water officers. They need to be enforcing the laws already on the books."

According to SMC, this situation is only going to get worse as the number of boats registered in Florida continues to increase. "The FWC appears to be conducting business as usual while more and more manatees are killed," said Rose. "I am urging the Governor to fulfill the commitment he made to Jimmy Buffett and me, when we met with him last year, to do more for manatees. This issue is especially critical now because lobbyists for the marine industries are trying to increase boating access to manatee habitat without having necessary protection measures in place first."