(St. Petersburg) ST. The number of manatee deaths has dropped this year from last, but Florida wildlife officials warn that starvation caused by water pollution continues to be a concern.
Preliminary data show 800 manatees dying in Florida in 2022, compared to more than 1,100 the previous year. Both figures are above the annual average.
Officials are trying to stem the ravages of famine by feeding romaine lettuce to manatees taking refuge in the warm waters of a power plant on Florida’s east coast. Nearly 91,000 kilos of lettuce were thrown to the animals last year, the first year of this experimental program.
Biologist Michelle Pasawicz said lettuce certainly helped individual animals. The decline in the number of deaths could mean that weaker or sicker animals died at the very beginning of the crisis, she said.
The long-term survival of manatees depends on the restoration of the algal beds on which they feed. In the Indian River Lagoon, which stretches for miles along the state’s east coast, these beds have been decimated by pollution from agriculture, septic systems, urban runoff and d other sources.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis announced $100 million in funding to improve lagoon water quality. He is now awaiting the green light from the legislature.
There are between 7,000 and 8,000 manatees in Florida. These animals are close cousins of elephants and can live for 65 years. However, their reproductive cycle is very slow.