Critical Habitat Protection for Beloved Manatees

American authorities have greenlit the expansion of the manatee’s critical habitat, further protecting some 800,000 hectares in Florida and Puerto Rico waters to ensure the survival of the iconic sea mammal.

“When finalized, the proposed critical habitat expansion will give federal, state, and conservation groups the information and impetus to ensure the beloved Florida manatee’s full recovery,” explains Jane Davenport, a senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife.

The manatee habitat hadn’t been updated since the sea mammal was first protected under the Endangered Species Act in 1976. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to protect 700,600 hectares of critical habitat for the Florida manatee and 31,614 hectares for the Antillean manatee in Puerto Rico, highlighting the importance of natural warm-water sites and abundant seagrass forage. Animals with federally protected critical habitat are more than twice as likely to recover than species without it.