ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — 2021 was the deadliest year for Florida’s manatees, so the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have teamed up to work towards a solution.

What You Need To Know

  • 2021 was the deadliest year for Florida’s manatees, so the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have teamed up to work towards a solution

  • They are expected to give an update on their efforts March 23

  • The manatee death count topped out at 1,101 last year, which is nearly double the total of manatees lost the previous year. In the first 10 weeks of 2022, 420 manatees died

On the morning of March 23, the joint command group is expected to give an update on their efforts. 

The manatee death count topped out at 1,101 last year, which is nearly double the total of manatees lost the previous year. In the first 10 weeks of 2022, 420 manatees died. 

James Powell, president of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, attributes the deaths to water quality issues and a depletion in seagrass. 

“You’ve got manatees moving into areas with numbers they have not been in previous years, and feeding on seagrass beds that are not as abundant as they were even a few years ago,” Powell said. 

The largest cluster of deaths is in Brevard County, where manatees gather to stay warm in the winter from the heat generated from a nearby power plant. The Indian River Lagoon has been dealing with algal blooms that decrease the light in the water and kill the seagrass. There’s not enough for the manatees to feed on, which leads to starvation. 

“The problem is, it’s not going to fix itself until those nutrients going into that system decrease,” Powell said. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan to update on their progress March 23.