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Division 7, District 7 USCG Auxiliary
Florida Manatees Are Dying at Alarming Rates Dorothy Riley, SO-PB
Manatees clustered at the Tampa Electric Big Bend power plant in Ruskin. Tampa Electric built a Manatee Viewing Center beside the power plant so that visitors can enjoy watching them during the winter months. Photo by Dorothy Riley
Hundreds of manatees are starving to death off the coast of Florida, and state officials say an ecosystem collapse could be to blame.
40% below their expected body weight.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said in its data that the unprecedented manatee mortality rate was likely due to starvation, specifically in Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, where a lack of seagrass has led to malnutrition among the species. In many areas, seagrass was decimated by overgrazing and algal blooms that block sunlight. Martine de Wit, a veterinarian who necropsies manatees for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, reported that many carcasses were “severely emaciated,” with some
Activists and researchers are now starting to monitor manatees in hopes of finding protection plans for future winters, Monica Ross, a research scientist from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, reported.
During the winter months, manatees continue to travel to the same familiar regions in hopes of finding shelter in the warm water heated by discharge State data shows that in 2021, at least 1,101 manatees died off the coast of Florida — up from the from the Florida Power and Light Co. (FPL) generaverage of 578 annual manatee deaths between ating station in the Indian River Lagoon and Tampa Electric Big Bend power plant in Ruskin. 2015 and 2020.
But repairing the ecosystems is costly and requires a long-term commitment. For example, the Indian River Lagoon could cost $5 billion and take 20 years to complete, Duane De Freese, execu(Continued on page 13)
