SPRING HILL, Fla. — As spring break unfolds across the Tampa Bay area, a few researchers are reminding visitors to notice their surroundings — especially when it comes to manatees on the water.

What You Need To Know

  • Researchers and volunteers with the University of Florida are passing along "manatee manners' as spring break arrives to Tampa Bay

  • It's through the Manatee Awareness Through Educational Stewardship, or M.A.T.E.S., program that a group of volunteers are looking out for the sea cows on the Weeki Wachee River

  • The program has allowed the University of Florida to keep track of manatee movements

Some at the University of Florida are passing along “manatee manners” in an effort to help the gentle sea cows thrive in their natural habitat.

“Be respectful of the manatees and engage with them in a safe way that is safe not only for you, but also for the manatee," Florida Sea Grant Agent Brittany Hall-Scharf said. "That way, they can continue to use these systems for what they need to and to be able to rest peacefully. That way, we can also still enjoy them and not run them out of their habitat.”

Outside at Linda Pedersen Park, Hall-Scharf was watching the water closely for manatees.

“Right now, you are in more of the peak season to be able to spot them,” she said. “A lot of folks don’t know how to properly interact with our manatees, or are even aware that they are a threatened species. So that means they are protected.”

Hall-Scharf also helps coordinate Manatee Awareness Through Educational Stewardship, or M.A.T.E.S., program — a group of volunteers looking out for the manatees up and down the Weeki Wachee River.

“They’ll station throughout the river,” said Hall-Scharf. “They are very familiar with the river itself and so they know where to interact with folks before they get to the main manatee point around Hospital Hole.”

Aside from educating kayakers, she said volunteers are trained to record conditions of manatees.

“If a manatee is in distress, you’re going to see that happen more frequently where they’re gasping for air,” Hall-Scharf said. “Our volunteers will record that and that way, when they call that into dispatch, they are able to relay that and it gives the biologist a picture of what is truly going on and then they can make a decision if they need to come and intervene and rescue that manatee.”

The program has allowed UF to keep track of manatee movements. In fact, Hall-Scharf said 40 to 50 manatees have been seen spotted at a time, which makes it all the more important to raise awareness in visitors.

Anyone wanting more information on the M.A.T.E.S. program can visit the group's website.