Manatee Hunts

• Overall quantitative estimates of extractions between 1533 and 1898  resulted in a total of 14.030 manatees captured and a biomass removal of 6.248,9 tonnes in a period of 52 separate years between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. 

• From those, 12.818 manatees were hunted between 1843 and 1898, comprising 91% of all captures prior to the 20th century when another moment of accelerated extractions occurred. 

• A trend of increasing captures was recorded from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, with a lacuna of data for the seventeenth century.  Estimating past extractions over the centuries, enabled us to realize a decrease of 94% of the overall population size. This informs current and future conservation measures for the species while also including traditional and indigenous views of addressing and using aquatic resources.