Sirenians

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1996:

Swamped in extra work by the
deaths of at least 370 manatees during the
first 10 months of 1996, nearly twice the
next highest toll of the past 20 years, the
Florida Bureau of Protected Species in
October sought an emergency allocation of
$500,000 to get through the year. The Save
The Manatee Trust Fund has raised $15.6
million since 1990 by selling more than
345,000 commemorative license plates, but
expenditures for 1996 alone will total nearly
$4 million. The fund employees 17
researchers in St. Petersburg and 16 people
in Tallahassee to review land use permits for
possible impact on manatees and develop
local manatee protection plans.

“The Commonwealth has various
options, including creating sanctuaries
under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Act, or taking action under the Endangered
Species Protection Act and the World
Heritage Properties Conservation Act,”
Australian environment minister Robert Hill
said October 4 in a veiled warning to the
fishing industry. Hill addressed the Great
Barrier Reef Dugong Review Group, in
response to reports that 70% of the dead
dugongs discovered in the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park during the past 18 months were
killed by gill nets.