[sunrico90]

Money collected from tags is use for the following:

* Rescue and rehabilitation of sick or injured manatees
* Establishment of manatee refuges
* Research on the manatee's ecology and travel patterns
* Manatee pathology (study of the nature of disease and its causes)
* Manatee necropsy (research on why a manatee died)
* Manatee Protection Plan development
* Sign Posting on Florida's waterways
* Distribution of educational materials
* Protection of seagrass and manatee habitat

[sunrico90]

And the number gets smaller, fewer manatees swimming in Florida waters. State wildlife officials say they found a total of 2,812 manatees swimming along Florida's Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, compared to the 3,100 manatees counted last year.

[Bert]

I was born and raised in Wabasso in IRC and have Boated,Fished, and Played in the Inter-coastal Most of my life, till we moved to IN (cant wait to get back). Never have I or my friends hit a Manatee. I think a lot of people see them and run upon them to get a better look. What they don't know is that they travel in packs a lot of the time. Well any way, they go to get a better look and wind up hitting another.Not to metion the ones who are drinking and just hualing butt, Sking or whatever.... where they shouldn't be.

I think that the state should offer a Manatee awareness class ( I know another way to get money from us), I had disagreed with a law they tried to pass some years ago about a Boat Operators license, But let me tell what, After my visit last April. They need it. I thought the Idiots up here were bad, but man, If was a Marine Patrol on the Indian River in Sebastian the day I went out I would have filled 6 ticket books.

The Signs are great but, I saw at least 25 Boats disregard them and go flying right on through, You Fishing guides need to slow down and quit racing to get to a spot. Besides you have already fished it out. But they are not as bad as the tourist who rent boats and Sea-doos and don't give a hoot-n-nanny about the eco system or the Laws of the water ways.

O.K thats my thoughts and sorry for blowing off a little steam.

Oh, and by the Way The Manatees were here before us. They have more rights to the Water ways then we do.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by Bert

Oh, and by the Way The Manatees were here before us. They have more rights to the Water ways then we do.

I was told by a native Floridian that Manatees were not native to Florida. They were brought in. So after reading your statement, I did a little research. Christopher Columbus made notes in his log that they spotted people hunting and killing Manatees. Now I understand a little better.

Thank you

[Bert]

jgussler, Well I am a native, I just moved away for a bit. I was born in the Indian River Memorial Hospital in Vero Beach, and Lived in the Wabasso Sebastian area for 35 years. There are quite a few things that were brought in, like citrus trees,Australian pines. Paper trees( cant think of the right name now) us.....ect,ect., but Manatees weren't one of them.

If you do a little more research my might find that they have been in in the area since the Cretaceous Period and were once a land creature.A friend and I were digging on the banks of a drainage canal that ran by the Piper aircraft building. The first one headed South out of Gifford right as you enter the old city limits of Vero Beach that bisects US 1.
We found Fossilized Manatee bones, as well as a tooth from a very large carnivore and many other fossil.

My Father Made a living on the river, Cast netting Mullet, Gill netting,Splatter poling(Trout fishing), Harvesting oysters and clams, so I have had a lot of education on the matters of the inter-coastal water ways, At least from Melbourne to Stuart.and Folk lore about the area from the late 1700's .In fact I have a lot of Friends that want me to show them my Fathers fishing spots. Most of which are in Manatee areas, but in much shallower water then they like, And I Know how to spot them from a distance. Although I do make a few mistakes and get them confused with Loggerhead Turtles sometimes . But I slow down for them as well. you know what! If people were aware of how many quite large ( Bull and many other species) sharks there were in the river. They might have a little more respect for it.

[lulu]

You know guys, another male teen (about 15 or 16 yrs old) killed himself a few weeks ago in Miami...he was speeding like a bullet through the canal and hit a wall -never knew what hit him. Needless to say, the parents are devastated.
What on earth is wrong w/parents & where are the laws to prevent this sort of thing?
For the life of me... I can't understand any of this.

[Bert]

I am sure there laws that were suppose to prevent this sort of thing, but no one abides by them. It is sad to hear things like that. I know for one that my children will not take out a boat till they Prove to me that they will follow the rules I set for them and take a safe boating course. I know from experience that there two main things I must teach them.

1.You must always be On the offense. Always have two people in the boat and on the look out for others who are not looking where they are going.

2. never give in to peer pressure. Don't let their friends talk them into doing what they know is unsafe. I have always and will always stress the point that one fatal mistake is all it takes, and you wont be around to make another.

My daughter wants to be a Marine biologist so her training about having respect for the Indian River Eco-system has already begun, even though we wont move back for another 5 months. and it will be about 2 years before I let her try to take a bout out by herself. I have a lot to teach her about spotting Turtles and Manatees and how to tell them apart I still make a few mistakes, how to tell, by the size of the waves or ripples where the shallow water is, and by the color. How to tell the size of the fish or animal by the wake it produces, and most of all NEVER TO THROW TRASH IN THE WATER, If you she observing a Manatee to keep a respectful distance.

[sunrico90]

Manny the Memphis Manatee is gone, but not forgotten. Not even in the halls of Congress.

As was reported in today's newspaper, former Vice President Al Gore mentioned the wayward critter during a Senate committee hearing on global warming.

"Manatees live in South Florida," Gore said. "One of 'em showed up off Memphis this summer. Yep. First time ever. You ever seen a manatee in Memphis? No. It got too hot in southern Florida. I'm not making this up."

Actually, Gore was a little off on his facts. As our story pointed out, Manny was first spotted in October, then later found dead in Lake McKellar in December, most likely from exposure. And, as a former Floridian, I can attest to the fact that manatees aren't found only in the southern part of the state.

That said, Gore's point remains. It's darned unusual for a manatee to make it as far north as Manny did. And he's not the only guest Memphis has had recently from more southern climes. (Remember those alligator sightings we were having for a while.)

Manny's life was tragically cut short. But if he helps raise awareness about the possible consequences of global warming, he may be a martyr for a worthy cause.

[jsimms3]

I have a boat that I love to drive in Jacksonville. The manatees are only here spring through fall and not in the winter, yet we have so many long no wake zones in very wide parts of the river as if the manatees are in the very middle of a 3 mile wide river in the winter. Sorry, but as boater some of the strict laaws have to go, I can understand no wake where the manatee are when the manatee are, but otherwise it is just giving into environmentalists and their agenda to prevent human expansion and fun. Also there have been several boater injuries and fatalities because many manatee and no wake signs are not lit at night for some dumb reason, are we more concerned for the manatees' safety or our own?

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

Manny the Memphis Manatee is gone, but not forgotten. Not even in the halls of Congress.

As was reported in today's newspaper, former Vice President Al Gore mentioned the wayward critter during a Senate committee hearing on global warming.

"Manatees live in South Florida," Gore said. "One of 'em showed up off Memphis this summer. Yep. First time ever. You ever seen a manatee in Memphis? No. It got too hot in southern Florida. I'm not making this up."

Actually, Gore was a little off on his facts. As our story pointed out, Manny was first spotted in October, then later found dead in Lake McKellar in December, most likely from exposure. And, as a former Floridian, I can attest to the fact that manatees aren't found only in the southern part of the state.

That said, Gore's point remains. It's darned unusual for a manatee to make it as far north as Manny did. And he's not the only guest Memphis has had recently from more southern climes. (Remember those alligator sightings we were having for a while.)

Manny's life was tragically cut short. But if he helps raise awareness about the possible consequences of global warming, he may be a martyr for a worthy cause.

Love your posts. Always something we should hear more about, and respect the manatess.

sunny