Two dead manatees found in Cape this week
Fish & Wildlife Commission reports first death was 'structure-related' at Chiquita Lock
Two manatees were found dead in Cape Coral waters over the past two days, with one death involving a heavily debated structure.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said they received a report of a manatee carcass at the Chiquita Lock Tuesday morning.
FWC personnel got word of the carcass at 7:12 a.m. and recovered the marine mammal from the waters near the lock.
FWC spokesperson Carly Jones said, “Staff performed a necropsy and the preliminary cause of death is structure-related.”
On Tuesday morning around 10 a.m., city of Cape Coral officials sent out an alert stating the Chiquita Lock was partially operational “due to a mechanical failure.”
City spokesperson Kaitlyn Pearson confirmed to The Breeze that the mechanical failure and the manatee death were, in fact, related.
According to Jones, there have been seven known manatee mortalities associated with the Chiquita Lock between September 2005 and April 2022.
“In 2021, the FWC provided guidance to the City of Cape Coral on actions to avoid future take,” Jones said. “The FWC and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continue to work to investigate and resolve structure-related manatee mortality.”
A second deceased manatee, this time a juvenile, was recovered by FWC Wednesday in the Angler/Rubicon canal area of the city.
Jones said the manatee did not receive a full necropsy “due to a significant amount of scavenging.”
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