Manatees will return to warm river waters as temperatures drop
The Caloosahatchee River provides warm water and plenty of sea grass – a perfect habitat for manatees.
November and December in Lee County means the prospect of cooler weather and more time for outdoor activities with the most popular, boating. There are 238 square miles of inland waterways and a record 51,000 registered boaters in Lee County this year.
The water may seem a little cooler this month, but not for manatees. They are drawn to the water in Lee County because of its warm temperature.
On Nov. 2 many of the recreational boating areas turned into slow speed zones to protect the manatees that come and inhabit those areas. With more and more boats on the water every year, sharing the water with more than 500 manatees becomes enforced by slow speed zones seen throughout the river.
“Higher numbers of boaters leads to higher number of manatee deaths,” said Justin McBride, senior environmental specialist for Lee County.
A high percentage of manatee deaths are boat-related. Lee County is ranked first in the state for number of boating-related manatee deaths recorded with 15 to date in 2009, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Service.
Lee County also ranks second overall to Brevard (98) with 45 total manatee deaths thus far this year.
“The cause of manatee deaths by boaters is split,” McBride said. “Forty percent of deaths are due to the trauma caused by boat propellers, and 60 percent is caused by blunt force trauma.”
When a boat hits a manatee at high speeds, internal trauma is caused, often leading to death.
“The reason for slow speed zones is to not collide with manatees at all,” McBride said. “But if a manatee is hit, the slower speed of the boat reduces the damage to the manatee.”
The protection of the manatee dates back before the 1900s statewide, but it wasn’t until the early 1990s when slow speed regulations were enforced within Lee County. Slow speed zones are created by analyzing data of aerial and mortality surveys conducted by the Florida Wildlife Commission.
“Manatee conservation is issue driven, not time driven,” McBride said. At anytime a problem area can be studied and determined to be a new slow speed zone to protect the manatees.
Manatees are warm-blooded mammals, and if their temperature drops below 68 degrees they experience cold stress which may cause sickness and death.
During the winter months in Lee County, water temperatures are among the warmest in the state, thus attracting the most manatees. While the manatee population has been on the rise in the past few years, it could quickly change.
In these populated areas, boaters need to follow the slow speed restrictions and always be on the lookout for manatees. If anything does happen, boaters should not be afraid to report a hurt manatee.
“The area by the Florida Power and Light Power Plant is the most populated spot of manatees in our area,” said Kelly Williamson, senior program specialist for Lee County. Florida Power and Light uses water from the Orange River to cool turbines and deposit the water back into the river warmer than when it left, Williamson said.
“An identity would be lost,” said Noah Stewart, operations manager at Adventures in Paradise Sea Adventure Cruise. “If the manatee population would decline, Southwest Florida would lose their ecological identity.”
There is no penalty for accidentally running into or hurting a manatee in Lee County. The most important thing to do is call and report the manatee so it can get the help it needs.
The Wildlife Alert Hotline is always available to dispatch help and respond to any situation. The phone number for the hotline is 888-404-3922.