Manatee deaths a record Florida (Miami, Merritt Island: environment, budget, houses)

[sunrico90]

RED tide kill 61 manatee's...



A record-high number of manatees died in Florida last year, fueled in part by a rise in watercraft-related fatalities.

The state saw 416 manatee deaths, one more than the previous high in 1996, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute reported. That included 86 watercraft-related fatalities, the second highest ever.

Boat-related deaths have traditionally made up about a quarter of the overall number of manatee deaths, but Sprague noted that if it hadn't been for the 61 Red Tide deaths last year, the number would not have even been close to the record.

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/10/St...s__a_rec.shtml

[dreamofmonterey]

great picture, Sunrico!. I saw one at the Miami SeaWorld- it was injured very badly. Do they have any way of preventing this? I thought these animals were semi-protected?

[sunrico90]

Through the NWR System, the FWS has acquired thousands of acres of land
important to manatees in the Crystal, Homosassa, and Suwannee rivers. Three
new manatee sanctuaries have been established in Florida, as well as a
motorboat-prohibited area in the Merritt Island NWR and the Kennedy Space
Center. The State of Florida has several programs to protect and acquire lands
including the Conservation and Recreational Lands (CARL) Program which
dedicates five percent of its program budget to habitat-related purchases for the manatee.

Another source of info: http://www.fws.gov/policy/library/04-15273.html

[Muggy]

At the risk of sounding like an environmental terrorist, I am going to restrict my comments; yes it's awful.

Part of the problem is Manatees surface to breathe while sleeping, so they may not be totally aware of boats at a time when boats would have the hardest time seeing/avoiding them.

I am also going to go ahead and wager here: Manatees are mammals, so the fact that they are dying from Red Tide should be a RED FLAG that coastal development may actually (suprise!) hurt humans too.

To date - and yes, file under "Muggy Positive" - one of the most amazing experiences of my life was paddling (not propellering) with a herd of Manatee last summer in Boca Ciega bay right by the Pinellas Bayway.

[ellie]

If you are a Florida resident you can buy a special license plate for your car which costs about $20 extra a year. The money goes towards manatee protection. What a nice way to say it's an important issue to you.

[sunrico90]

Over the years, researchers have attempted to identify and quantify West Indian manatee distribution, population size and causes of mortality in order to understand manatees and the threats to their survival. They have isolated several causes of manatee deaths, most of which are directly related to human contact or encroachment. If these sources of mortality are not controlled, manatees may become extinct.

Scientists break down the causes of manatee deaths into six different categories:

*

Watercraft Collisions: Manatee mortalities caused by the crushing impact of the hull and/or slashing of the propellers. In the case of large power vessels and barges moving through shallow waters, manatees may be caught between the vessel and the water bottom, or the vessel and a docking structure, and crushed.
*

Flood Gate or Canal lock: Manatee mortalities caused when the animal is crushed and/or drowned in these structures.
*

Other Human-Related: Manatee mortalities caused by monofilament line, fishing nets, fishing hooks, litter, poaching or other human activities.
*

Perinatal: A dependent calf less than 150 cm (about 5 feet) that died around the time of birth and was not determined to have died from human-related causes.
*

Other Natural: Mortalities caused by natural circumstances such as cold stress, red tide, gastrointestinal disease, pneumonia and other diseases.
*

Undetermined: The manatee is too badly decomposed to determine cause of death, the necropsy finding is inclusive, or the manatee carcass was reported and verified, but not recovered.

[sunrico90]

When operating your boat in Florida, please observe these regulatory and manatee protection signs:

[blissblessed1]

If you live in Miami, you have witnessed the wreckless behavior of speed boaters and more. Walk the beach and look at the flotsom and jetsom that lands. It's a wonder anything thrives. Areas such as this need to be monitored more often by the marine patrol.

[sunrico90]

Watch the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RSJb...elated&search=

[leepoffaith]

I got to swim with the Manatees last April. I only saw about 10 and swam by two. I also got to actually touch one. This whole experience had to be one of the best parts of my life thus far. They are such gentle and friendly animals. It is a great shame what is being done to them.

People that live in these huge houses on the shoreline where they live HATE them. Why? They can't use their speed boats, jet skis or any other motorized vehicle, at least to it's fullest potential. I think that the state of Florida should just prohibit boating in those areas, period. No slow zones, just no boating period.