Wednesday is International Manatee Day
On International Manatee Day, Wednesday, Sept. 7, Save the Manatee Club is encouraging and reminding those enjoying the state’s waterways to boat responsibly and be on the lookout for endangered manatees in order to give them their space in the water.
Encounters with watercraft remain a major cause of manatee injuries and deaths, and nearly every living manatee bears scars from encounters with propellers, the club stated in an announcement this week. The club also reminds boaters to be aware of posted speed zone signs, including manatee zones.
Polarized sunglasses can reduce glare and allow boat motorists to see below the water’s surface; and learn and look out for telltale signs of manatees in the area, notably a swirl or flat spot on the water that is created by the motion of the manatee’s tail when it dives or swims, or a break in the water created by a manatee’s snout, back, tail, or flipper.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continue to investigate a high level of manatee mortalities and respond to manatee rescues along the Atlantic coast of Florida. Environmental conditions in portions of the Indian River Lagoon remain a concern where the largest amount of manatee deaths have been recorded. A lack of seagrasses in the Indian River Lagoon has been attributed to pollution and poor water quality which have led to harmful algal blooms and widespread manatee starvation.
Last year, the FWC documented a record-number of manatee deaths in Florida waters with 1,101 recorded. Lee County accounted for the second-most number of manatee deaths with 109. Brevard County had the most deaths with 358 recorded.
So far this year, the FWC has recorded 671 manatee deaths through Aug. 26. Brevard County leads the state again with 379 manatee deaths, with the second-most being recorded in Lee County with 59 deaths. While only 53 of the manatee deaths in Florida this year have been officially ruled as watercraft-related, 409 of those deaths were either not necropsied or ruled to be of an undetermined cause.
In 2019, the number of manatees in Florida waters was estimated to be at more than 5,000 though with approximately 3,000 manatee deaths recorded in Florida waters since 2019, there could now be around half that number left.
To reach NATHAN MAYBERG, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com