Manatee deaths are down in 2022 from a record the previous year, but Florida wildlife officials said Wednesday that chronic starvation caused by water contamination remains a major concern.
Preliminary statistics show 800 manatee deaths recorded last year in Florida, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That compares with more than 1,100 in 2021. Both numbers are higher than the annual average for marine mammal deaths.
The new figures come as state and federal officials are feeding thousands of pounds of romaine lettuce to manatees at a hot water power plant on Florida’s east coast in an effort to curb manatee starvation deaths. More than 200,000 pounds of lettuce were fed to threatened animals in the initial trial program last year.
FWC manatee biologist Michelle Pasawicz said the feeding program certainly helped some individual manatees, but the decline in deaths can also be attributed to weaker and sicker animals that perished in the first few months of the die-off.
IN FLORIDA, 202,000 POUNDS OF LETTUCE SHIPPED TO FEED HUNGRY MANATEES
“Manatees seem to be in better shape overall,” Pasawicz said during an online news conference. “I think we were helping some manatees for sure. A milder winter definitely gives manatees a better chance.”
So far, about 30,000 pounds of lettuce paid for through donations has been fed to manatees at the Indian River Lagoon site near Cape Canaveral. Another 25,000 pounds is on the way, Pasawicz said, as more manatees show up.
A group of manatees in a canal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 28, 2010. Manatee deaths are down in 2022 from a record a year earlier, but authorities warn hunger remains a problem due to pollution of the water.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
“This is a marathon. It’s going to last us several months,” said Jon Wallace of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
FLORIDA DECREASES MANATEE HUNGER INDEX WITH LETTUCE FEEDING PROGRAM
The long-term key to manatee survival is restoring the seagrass beds they depend on, officials say. Seagrasses in the Indian River Lagoon, which stretches for miles along the eastern shoreline, have been decimated by water pollution from agriculture, septic tanks, urban runoff and other sources.
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that $100 million annually of the proposed $3.5 billion in environmental funds would be used “for priority projects to improve water quality” in the lagoon, including the reduction of harmful nutrients and more plantings. of sea grass. Money would also be set aside to continue working groups on harmful blue-green algae blooms and red tide outbreaks caused by water pollution.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
That money must be appropriated by the Legislature. Wildlife officials had few details Wednesday regarding the manatees, but welcomed any increase in funding.
“We’re looking forward to it,” said Tom Reinert, spokesman for FWC’s manatee program. “I’d like to think that our feeding program at least helped some manatees.”
There are between 7,000 and 8,000 manatees, also known as sea cows, in Florida, according to state estimates. They are close relatives of elephants and can live up to 65 years, but they reproduce slowly.
