Watercraft manatee deaths were up in 2024 as 96 sea cows were hit and killed by vessels in the Sunshine State. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, is reporting that 565 manatee deaths were recorded by the state agency last year.

On Monday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed rule that would keep the Florida manatee at threatened and uplist the Antillean manatee, another west Indian subspecies, to endangered.

Federal wildlife officials releasing a proposal that would continue to classify Florida manatees as a threatened species, after environmentalists argued they should be reclassified as endangered. For decades,