Florida May Have Turned the Corner in the Manatee Mortality Crisis
Bottom Line: Florida Fish and Wildlife’s most recent Manatee Mortality Report paints a picture of a recovering environment for Florida’s official marine mammal. After a 2-year starvation crisis brought about by a staggering loss of seagrass in Florida’s estuaries, including the loss of 90% of the grass in the Indian River Lagoon (the most important feeding ground for manatees on Florida’s east coast), there’s reason for optimism. The five-year average for manatee mortalities is 741. Last year we suffered the loss of 800 manatees and that was after the record setting loss of 1,100 the year before at the peak of the starvation crisis. Following an expanded and successful manatee lettuce feeding program this past winter, numerous and increasingly successful sea grass restoration projects, and now with fewer toxic east-west discharges from Lake Okeechobee, the decline in manatee deaths looks to be sustainable.
Year to date there have been 442 manatee deaths, a total that’s 35% lower than at this time a year ago. Using the low-end manatee population estimate, we would have lost 13% of the manatee population last year. This means the rate in decline in manatee deaths is nearly three times larger than the loss of manatees last year. It’s an indication that we may well have turned the corner in the manatee mortality crisis. The two keys for sustainability are sea grass restoration efforts, which are active on both coasts, and an end of toxic algal blooms brought about by discharges from Lake Okeechobee. That’s proving to be a consistent challenge.
Lake Okeechobee's water level currently stands above 15 feet and is a foot higher than the average for this time of the year. That’s resulted in regular discharges from Lake O’. Most recently there aren’t any active eastern discharges, however we are seeing regular western and southern discharges (which is the natural and preferred direction for discharges) with most of the water flowing west. That’s not helpful to the habitats on Florida’s Gulf coast. In August there were regular eastern discharges taking place as well. The Army Corps of Engineers continues to hold one of the biggest keys in determining whether we have turned a corner permanently in the manatee mortality crisis, or whether the improvement we’re seeing this year is temporary. It’s also worth pointing out that what’s good for manatees is good for all marine life in Florida’s waterways. Manatees just happen to be the largest and most visible examples of what’s really happening below the surface.