The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission decided yesterday to postpone its decision regarding whether manatees should remain on the endangered species list.

FWC scientists completed a study this year and concluded that manatees would be more properly classified as a threatened species under criteria the agency uses to classify imperiled species. However, Commissioners indicated they want to ensure they have a grasp of all the best scientific information available before they make a final decision.

Vice Chairman Rodney Barreto noted that FWC scientists at the Florida Marine Research Institute have prepared the most comprehensive evaluation of the manatee's biological status ever assembled, but he said it would be proper to allow more time for evaluation and refinement of the body of scientific knowledge.

However, he said, "We do not see any evidence that the manatee population is in immediate jeopardy." In fact, he said nothing indicates manatees are in danger of extinction within the next 100 years.

He said current data, both scientific and anecdotal, indicate the manatee population has increased since the 1970s.

Barreto said Florida has taken an active leading role in protecting manatees and already has established more than 250,000 acres of manatee protection zones — roughly 24 percent of the state's inland and coastal waters.

"The state of Florida has done a great job of protecting manatees, and they should be congratulated for all they've done," Barreto said.

Commissioners voted to allow FWC staff to continue evaluating information and feedback until their September meeting and to consider taking action to move on to the final step to downlist the species not later than November.

The final phase of the process of downlisting manatees is preparation of a management plan, which would detail protection measures to help the species recover from the threat of extinction. Completion of the management plan is a required step for any change in species' classification on the imperiled species list.

Changes in classification do not trigger changes in the FWC's protection efforts for the species. Protection efforts are based on the species' needs listed in the management plan.

Changes to the state's list do not automatically result in changes to the federal government's list, which is based on different criteria.

In a survey of the manatee population last January, researchers counted 3,113 animals. The highest count was 3,276 during 2001. The annual surveys do not constitute reliable indicators of the total manatee population, according to scientists.