Manatee deaths in Florida
Bottom Line: It’s not the news we’d have hoped for from the Florida, Fish and Wildlife Commission. We’re on track for a record number of manatee deaths by boaters and it’s the top cause of death of manatees in 2019. The previous record set just last year, was 124 deaths by boaters. We were at 120 thru mid-November. On one hand it’s not surprising. More people, more boaters more opportunity. Plus, more manatees...we think.
While some estimates place the manatee population at around 10,000 after years of projected growth in population – it's possible that we’re being overly optimistic. In the state’s “ground count” of manatees in 2017, 6,620 were observed. This year’s count checked in at just 5,733. It’s generally believed that these are minimum counts but the year over year decrease in count isn’t small and we’d have to have several thousand more unaccounted for to meet the perceived state estimates.
Most deaths are taking place in Lee and Brevard Counties, demonstrating that the problem exists on both coasts and rounding out the top five counties are Collier, Monroe and Volusia. Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties have been responsible for three deaths via boaters each thus far in 2019. The bottom line is the need for greater consideration for the threatened species.