Video: Houston fisherman spots rare manatee in Galveston Bay - Houston Chronicle

A Houston fisherman was caught off guard by a surprise visitor during his latest fishing excursion.

At first sight, Pay Habib thought the creature that swam up to the rocks where he was fishing early afternoon on Monday at the Texas City Dike was an injured dolphin. It was moving slowly, traversing along the coastline where his fishing reels were planted.

"Then he popped his head up," Habib said. "I never expected a manatee."

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Habib, 35, has been fishing since he was a kid. In all his years of fishing in Texas, he has never spotted a manatee, also known as a sea cow. He caught the chance encounter on video before sharing it with other online fishing enthusiasts.

"Nobody could believe it was a manatee, everyone was freaking out," Habib said. "It was just the right place and the right time."

An official with the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding caught wind of Habib's video and reached out to record his sighting for research purposes. The nonprofit organization has an agreement with NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to respond to injured or stranded dolphins, whales and manatees along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Manatee sightings along the Texas Gulf Coast date back to the early 1900s and have become increasingly common in recent years, according to Texas Marine Mammal Stranding executive director Heidi Whitehead. There are no resident populations of the animal here but they migrate hundreds of miles a year from areas such as the Caribbean basin, including the southeastern United States, during the summer months. There have been 15 manatee sightings along the coast so far in 2021, she said.

Beach combers, surfers and manatees are hanging out on the Texas coast.Getty Images

"When it becomes unusual is when we see manatees still here in the winter months when the water temperatures drop and it become colder," Whitehead said. "We encourage the public to report all manatee sightings so we can photograph and identify them, collaborate with other partners across the Gulf and potentially monitor them if needed."

Manatees are currently listed as threatened and are protected under the Endangered Species Act and under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There are an estimated 13,000 manatees in existence today, a significant increase from population estimates in the 1990s.

The public is encouraged to report all manatee sightings, whether the animal is injured or not, at 1-800-9-MAMMAL.

rebecca.hennes@chron.com

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