Saving our Manatees

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about the difficult times our Florida manatees are experiencing right now. Winter feeding grounds are disappearing for the mammals in certain areas of the state, and it is causing the death toll to rise dramatically. In 2021, more than 1,100 manatees lost their lives, many due to starvation.

Areas like the Indian River Lagoon are losing their seagrass beds, a favorite food for these sea cows, primarily due to nutrients and pollutants that destroy this food source. I reported that 55 tons of lettuce were donated to supplement their diet last year. It turns out that 80 tons were provided and that 100 tons will more than likely be eaten when this feeding program ends in April.

Why stop in April? As spring brings warmer air and water, the manatees naturally leave their winter homes. Manatees, like humans, are subject to hypothermia and can perish if water temps are too cold. Springtime offers them the ability to travel to areas where food will be more plentiful and they can enjoy this opportunity until next fall, when water temps begin to lower again.

The success of the feeding plan over the past several months has taught us a lot.

Planning for next fall is already taking place. The manatees ate every bit of lettuce that was provided to them and acquisition of refrigerated trucks to store more lettuce is in the works. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) know a lot more about what to do next winter by learning from the recent past.

There are between 7,000-8,000 manatees in Florida. The 2021 death toll was the highest on record, over 1,100. Additionally, as of early March, about 420 more have lost their lives. This feeding program is just the tip of the iceberg of what needs to be done.

Florida contains about 2.2 million acres of seagrasses, comprised of seven different species. These extend from the Florida-Alabama border in the panhandle all the way around to Volusia County on the Atlantic Ocean, near Indian River Lagoon. Most are found in bays and lagoons since these beds require a high degree of light to survive. That means shallow water.

The grasses perform many significant functions. By trapping sediments and particles with their leaves the water clarity is maintained. They also stabilize the bottom with their roots to prevent erosion. They also provide food for many marine mammals and birds in addition to offering shelter for crustaceans and fish.

Closer to home, Florida Bay has been devastated as well. The amount of fresh water entering the bay in the 1980’s was critically lowered due to land use upstream, such as agricultural development. The lack of fresh water changes an estuary and allows salt water to dominate the area, changing salinity, water quality and clarity. If sunlight cannot penetrate the water, seagrass growth may be severely restricted.

Even closer to home a Manatee Mitigation Refuge was developed near Port of the Islands, just 25 minutes from Marco Island. A channel was dredged for them to reside during the winter and a partnership among several agencies has proven successful in this area.

Several plans are working while others are developing. This past year has been a huge learning curve to determine how to help these gentle giants in the future. Devastation seems to be most prominent in the Indian River Lagoon, but the entire state needs to be on alert for any strange behavior that we see around our manatees.

Please remember that manatees are a protected species and it is illegal to touch them or feed them in the wild. Enjoy viewing them, at a distance.

Bob is a naturalist on board the dolphin survey vessel Dolphin Explorer. He is the author of two books and a two-time national award-winning columnist for Coastal Breeze News. Bob loves his wife very much!