• Two years ago, manatee groups filed a lawsuit against the State of Florida claiming that the state had not done enough to protect manatees and that such inaction was "causing manatees to sink further toward extinction." The FWC and the manatee groups entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the lawsuit. Since then substantial biological information has been made public. The best available scientific evidence indicates that statewide manatee populations have been steadily increasing over the last 30 years, not declining.

• We are aware of comments which have been made by manatee groups indicating that they are not satisfied with the amount of new regulations recommended in this set of ten "hot spots" and "safe havens." We wish to point out that the manatee groups have already achieved the major component of the settlement agreement, the revised Brevard County manatee regulations. Brevard County now has more than 100 square miles of state and federal manatee protection zones in effect.
  
  
• The terms of the settlement agreement require FWC staff to develop and propose additional regulations; however, the settlement agreement specifically states that the FWC Commissioners are not legally mandated to adopt any additional regulations. Section 16 of the agreement states as follows.

• Florida Statutes give authority to the FWC to adopt boating regulations in areas where manatees occur on a "frequent or recurring" basis. It is important to note that this is an authorization to regulate in such areas not a mandate. The decision regarding whether to regulate, and the extent of regulation, is entirely within the discretion of the Commission. This is an important distinction under the current situation where expanding populations are resulting in manatees becoming "frequent or recurring" in more and more areas of the state.
  
  
• We suggest that the Commission can, and should, take into consideration the status of manatee populations in a region when the Commission considers what kind of regulations may be necessary. The level of regulation should be different in regions where populations are expanding versus areas where they may be stable.
  
  
• For the Peace River proposal, we recommend that the Commission modify the proposed speed zone from 5 mph to 25 mph in two areas. In each of those areas there has been only one watercraft mortality in the past 30 years. We do not believe that a single mortality justifies establishing such restrictive measures over several square miles. In addition, manatee populations in the Peace River areas are certainly not declining. In fact, FWC aerial survey data for the Peace River shows dramatic increases in abundance. Average sightings per flight increased from 3.7 manatees per flight in the late 1980's, to 14.5 in the early 1990's, to 22 per flight in 1998-1999 - a 600% increase over the last 10 years.
  
  
• Our primary issue and objection to the Jungle Trail proposal is that 75.6 percent of the inshore waters of Indian River County are already in manatee protection zones. Before the FWC adds additional major restrictions it should re-examine the need for such extensive zones throughout the county. If 75.6 percent of the inshore waters is not enough then possibly the current zones are not in the correct locations.
  
  
• We are encouraged by and appreciate the efforts made by FWC staff to work with CCA Florida and other recreational fishing interests and to modify original proposals. Such cooperative effort is evident in the recommendations for Terra Ceia Bay, Turtle Bay, and the Alafia River. Regulations can be designed which provide additional manatee protection and still provide reasonable access for recreational fishing.

Prepared by: Ted Forsgren, Executive Director
CCA Florida
905 E. Park Avenue
Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 224-3474