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Florida on pace for record number of manatee deaths in 2021

FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2017 file photo, manatees swim with their calves at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Fla. A combination of cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development and contaminated waterways have put Florida on pace for its highest number of manatee deaths in a decade. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission records show the 432 manatee deaths in 2021 is nearly three times the five-year average of 146 deaths between Jan. 1 and March 5. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A combination of cold weather, a decline in seagrass due to development and contaminated waterways have put Florida on pace for its highest number of manatee deaths in a decade.

The number of deaths, 432 so far this year, is nearly three times the five-year average of 146 deaths between Jan. 1 and March 5, the South Florida SunSentinel reported, citing figures from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Last year, the state recorded 637 manatee deaths, and in 2019, 607.

“It’s this combination we have of cold weather, we have a reduction of where manatees can go, and in the places where manatees can go, as a consequence of human development and other activities, we have poor water quality which has resulted in these grass die-offs,” said Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

The largest number of deaths is in Brevard County, with 179, the newspaper reported. Many of those deaths occurred along the Indian River, which is a common warm water gathering place, officials said. The manatees swim away to eat sea grass, which is their main source of food. But they aren’t finding as much, so they return hungry to the warmer water.

“A manatee will choose starvation over freezing to death,” Lopez said.

Officials said cold stress has accounted for 41 deaths so far. There were 52 cold-stress deaths among manatees in 2020, officials said.

Patrick Rose, an aquatic biologist and executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, told the SunSentinel that typically manatees would stay in the Banana River or Mosquito Lagoon, in the northern end of the Indian River Lagoon. But the loss of sea grass there is forcing them into other areas.

The southern end of the Indian River Lagoon has suffered from a series of algal blooms and phytoplankton blooms, and the infusion of fresh water and nutrients from Lake Okeechobee has stressed that system and wiped out much of its sea grass, the newspaper reported.

Rose said there are probably more manatee deaths than the state has documented and the causes might not be accurately attributed.

While the state wildlife commission rescues sick and injured manatees, coronavirus pandemic-related personnel shortages and restrictions have meant that nearly 70% of the dead manatees have not had necropsies to determine their causes, Rose said.

“You’re always better off when you have a real scientific understanding of what’s actually happening,” he said.

James Williams: Jim Williams is the Washington Bureau Chief, Digital Director as well as the Director of Special Projects for Genesis Communications. He is starting his third year as part of the team. This is Williams 40th year in the media business, and in that time he has served in a number of capacities. He is a seven time Emmy Award winning television producer, director, writer and executive. He has developed four regional sports networks, directed over 2,000 live sporting events including basketball, football, baseball hockey, soccer and even polo to name a few sports. Major events include three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two World Series, six NBA Playoffs, four Stanley Cup Playoffs, four NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournaments (March Madness), two Super Bowl and over a dozen college bowl games. On the entertainment side Williams was involved s and directed over 500 concerts for Showtime, Pay Per View and MTV Networks.
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