At 432 deaths so far this year, Florida is on pace to reach its highest number of deaths in a decade. Multiple factors like cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development and contaminated waterways have contributed to this increase in manatee deaths.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) conservation commission shows the total is nearly three times the five year average of 146 deaths through March 5th of this year. Last year the state recorded manatee deaths at 637 deaths and a total of 607 deaths in 2019.
Florida’s cold waters have been a factor in the recent climb in manatee deaths. Speaking with The Guardian, Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said that “a manatee will choose starvation over freezing to death,” and thus move to warmer waters with fewer of its typical food sources.
Human pollution is a major contributor of the rise in manatee deaths as well. Speaking with the Miami Herald, Patrick Rose, an aquatic biologist and executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, said sewage spills that plagued canals and rivers across Fort Lauderdale have led to a decline in sea grasses that manatees normally graze on.
According to The National Geographic, efforts have been made to replicate New York City’s oyster project by introducing oysters to act as natural filtration systems to prevent mass algae blooms in the Indian River Lagoon. According to an article from The New Republic, local governments have tried to tackle this issue, through measures large and small. Miami-Dade County secured a $235 million loan from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to address and update its sewer systems. Fort Myers Beach however has acknowledged its limited capabilities and recognized that state and federal intervention will be needed if effective change wants to be done. If Florida continues to address its water crisis issue county by county or city by city by way of patchwork water updates no progressive change would be enduring.
Oyster Filtration Timelapse by the Florida Oceanographic Society
On March 11th U.S. Congresswoman Representative Stephanie Murphy of Winter Park, Fl sent a letter to the FWS requesting the federal agency to investigate the sharp increase in Florida manatee deaths in Florida’s waterways. If the FWS do the investigation and address this issue maybe then Federal and State intervention can truly save the manatees.
As of 1975 the state of Florida designated the manatee as the state marine mammal. Manatees are large, elongated marine mammals with paired flippers and large, a spoon shaped tail. Manatees are typically greyish brown in color and thrive in warm water. Their primary food source is sea grass. They are protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act (1978), Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972), and the Federal Endangered Species Act (1973). Visit the video below to learn more about these beautiful endangered mammals.
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