Ocean Sentry
(From tcpalm.com) Treasure Coast, Florida- Twenty-one endangered manatees died in the Treasure Coast”s coastal waters this year, with Indian River County leading the way in the area, according to state figures through Dec. 12. The county”s latest was an infant manatee found dead in the St. Sebastian River, near Sebastian, in the second week of December. It is among 11 of the marine mammals reported dead in Indian River County, along with six in St. Lucie and four in Martin counties, representing about 6 percent of the 316 deaths reported statewide so far this year, according to state figures.
Since 2000, Florida has averaged 336 manatee deaths annually.
Most manatee fatalities usually are boat-related, followed by natural deaths of infants around the time of birth, officials said.
On Dec. 8, a manatee was killed by a boat in Martin County in the Indian River Lagoon, reports show.
“We have made a lot of great strides (in safeguarding manatees), but we still need to do a lot of work,” said Katie Tripp, director of Science and Conservation for the Save the Manatee Club, Maitland.
“I would like to see more manatees dying of old age, rather than other reasons,” she said.
Tripp said she hopes Indian River County officials will look closely at what can be done to keep deaths down.
The Treasure Coast is mainly a travel corridor, she said, for manatees traveling between large seasonal population centers in Brevard County and South Florida.
And deaths in the state continue to be the highest in nearby Brevard County, which has large expanses of coastal waters. So far this year, that county has accounted for 69 known deaths, far outnumbering any place in the state.
In St. Lucie County, “We would like to have zero, but six (deaths in 2008) is not terrible,” said Jann Widmayer, curator of the nonprofit St. Lucie County’s Manatee Observation and Education Center, in Fort Pierce.
MANATEE MORTALITY
Status: There are about 3,000 of the endangered marine mammals in Florida, with about half on the east coast.
Deaths statewide in 2008: 316 through mid-December, versus an annual average of 336
Treasure Coast deaths: 11 in Indian River, six in St. Lucie and four in Martin counties
Average deaths: Indian River and Martin counties averaged eight deaths annually since 2000; St. Lucie County averaged three.
Main causes of death: Natural and human related. Also, many died of undetermined causes.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, and the Save the Manatee Club, Maitland
(By Elliott Jones)
