Florida manatees aren't faring too well this year, according to state mortality counts.

While it's too early to tell whether the mortality rate will reach or surpass the 2006 record of 417 deaths in one year, as of Aug. 14 researchers accounted for 324 dead manatees discovered in Florida waters. The deaths surpass the number of manatee deaths during the same time period for every year since 2004.

In January, an annual aerial survey of manatees determined at least 3,807 manatees swim in Florida waters.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, 67 manatees died this year from water craft injuries, five from flood gate or lock injuries, five from other human causes, 88 from perinatal causes, 53 from cold stress, 22 from various natural causes, seven verified but unrecoverable carcasses, 67 from undetermined causes and 10 from "undetermined, other" causes.

Lee County remains an epicenter for manatee mortalities. Eighty-eight of the dead manatees this year were recovered from Lee County waters. This year, Charlotte County waters has seen seven manatee deaths to date, while Sarasota County is listed as having nine deaths to date.

From January 1975 to March 2009, 1,205 manatees died in Lee County. During the same time span, 290 died in Charlotte and 212 died in Sarasota County waters.

The perinatal mortalities refer to deaths of immature manatees. Those numbers are running high, too.

In June, the 3.5-foot carcass of a baby manatee, no more than a week or two old, was discovered in an Overbrook Gardens canal in Englewood. The dead manatee bore no prop wounds or other visible causes of death. After a necropsy performed on the manatee, scientists still couldn't determine the exact cause of death because the carcass was too decomposed. However, none of the infant manatee's bones were broken nor did it show any other signs of sustaining severe trauma before its death.

Why the number for perinatal deaths this year is so high remains a question for scientists, said Martine deWit, a researcher with the institute's pathology laboratory. The deaths may be a result of the cold stress, due to harsh cold days this past winter and drops in water temperatures. Manatee birth rates could also be a factor.

"We don't know," deWit said.

With the 20 percent of deaths due water craft injuries, the numbers tend to jump after holiday weekends, deWit said. After a holiday, more dead manatees show up at the pathology lab in St. Petersburg.


For more information on manatees and other marine life research, visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Web site at http://research.myfwc.com/.


E-mail: reilly@sun-herald.com


By STEVE REILLY

Staff Writer
(http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/pnnews.aspx?NewsID=443004&a=newsarchive2/082209/tp1ch3.htm&pnpg=0)

HELP US OBTAIN GREATER ENFORCEMENT OF BOAT SPEED ZONES!TAKE ACTION FOR MANATEES!

Help Us Obtain Greater Enforcement Of Boat Speed Zones

The Issue:
Cuts in state and federal funding have resulted in fewer on-water law enforcement officers in critical areas of Florida. The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, created to safeguard manatees, is one such area. Last July, a mother manatee was horribly injured in the bay by a speeding boat and subsequently died. Another manatee was also horribly injured by a speeding boat and died. Unfortunately, this scenario will continue to be repeated many times in areas heavily used by both boats and manatees unless law enforcement efforts are increased dramatically.

Although we don’t believe in gratuitously displaying manatee photos depicting disfiguring injuries, we have decided -- after much soul-searching -- to post some online photos of the poor manatee mother because a picture is worth a thousand words. Warning: These photos are very graphic. Click here to view photos.

Our immediate goal is to get more officers on the water during times of peak use, even if it means Save the Manatee Club pays for them. We are also increasing boater awareness with a poster featuring the message, “Navigate With Care, Manatees Are There.” And we will advocate to eliminate dangerous high speed areas.

What You Can Do:
By adding your information below, you will be sending an email to to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and to Florida Governor Charlie Crist, asking them to immediately increase their on-water law enforcement presence throughout manatee habitat.

Please also consider making a donation to help safeguard manatees in Crystal River and other critical areas of Florida

Thank you for your help and support!









July 05, 2009

Subject:
Increase On-Water Enforcement


Dear Secretary Kempthorne and Governor Crist:

At least 73 manatees were killed last year by boats. This year, many more manatees have also been killed by speeding boats. Additionally, most living manatees have been hit by boats and must suffer through these sometimes horrendous injuries that can negatively affect their ability to eat, swim, and take care of their young.

For the manatee, it can only get worse as the number of boats using Florida's already busy and dangerous waterways continues to increase. With more and more boats, the probability that a manatee will be injured or killed grows larger.

Further, voluntary boater compliance in most areas of Florida has historically been poor. And according to a study by the University of Florida, more than half the boaters observed sped through manatee protection zones, even though they indicated they cared about manatees in a subsequent poll.

With the continued loss of an enforcement presence, compliance could get much worse because many boaters will correctly assume that there is a very low likelihood of being ticketed for violating manatee boat speed zones.

In some critical areas in the state, the need for additional enforcement officers is already dire and likely to get worse without your taking immediate action. Take Crystal River, for instance, where there is a year-round manatee population and where numerous incidents of boats speeding through slow speed zones have been reported. Last July, a mother manatee was very badly injured by a speeding boat in Kings Bay, close to summer feeding sanctuaries, and later died before rescuers could help her. Another manatee was also horribly injured by a speeding boat in the Crystal River area and died.

I urge you to do all you can to increase the on-water enforcement presence in critical areas around Florida immediately to avoid the needless suffering and deaths of this endangered species whose population numbers just over 3,000.

I appreciate your prompt attention to this vital issue.
We will add your signature from the information you provide.

Help End Manatee Harassment in Citrus County Florida!Action Alert!

Each winter, over 100,000 people visit the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to snorkel and dive with endangered manatees. Inevitably, many of these visitors want to touch the manatees or interact with them in some way.

Manatees are protected under the Endangered Species Act, so grabbing them, feeding, surrounding, or chasing them can be considered harassment and is therefore illegal. But due to budget cuts, there has been a severe staff reduction and law enforcement includes only one full-time officer who divides his time among 5 separate wildlife refuges, so there are many incidents of manatee harassment each year.

Recently, videographer Mark Santa-Maria won an award at an international underwater film competition for his video Choice for Change, which documents several incidents of manatee harassment at the refuge:

See the Video
See the award-winning video that documents manatee harassment at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.

Read an Article
on the issue in the Citrus County Chronicle.



Manatees need this wildlife refuge for survival in the winter! When people try to touch or pursue manatees, they can alter the manatee's behavior in the wild, perhaps causing them to leave a warm water area, which makes them susceptible to potential harm. Also, people can inadvertently separate a mother and calf by trying to touch manatees. Manatee calves depend on the care of their mothers for up to two years, so a calf that is separated from his or her mother could ultimately die without her.

Get more background on the issue

How Close is Too Close When Humans Meet Manatees?
Read an article in the St. Petersburg Times
on the recent meeting in Crystal River, FL

Managing Manatees
Read an article on the manatee harassment
issue in the St. Petersburg Times

What You Can Do:
1. Please Submit Your Comments for the CCP
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working on a new Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Crystal River NWR. Please ask them to:

Strengthen law enforcement efforts in the areas or create a better monitoring system and prosecute appropriately those people who violate the rules.
Hold tour operators responsible for the actions of their customers and impose fines for those who don't monitor their customers.
Adopt a strict "no touch" policy when it comes to manatees.
Limit the number of people allowed near the sanctuary areas in the winter, unless harassment stops.
Protect the manatees in the refuge by expanding the no-entry sanctuary areas.
Require educational training for all those who may dive at this refuge in the winter.
Acquire the Three Sisters Springs and surrounding lands as refuge property.
Create additional staff positions, including a Public Use staff person and a Law Enforcement Officer for the Crystal River Refuge exclusively.
Allocate special endangered species funds for the Crystal River NWR.
Eliminate the Water Sports Zone in the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.
Send an e-mail to: (copy and paste into your e-mail message)
chassahowitzka@fws.gov, joyce_kleen@fws.gov

Your e-mail will be going to:
James Kraus, Refuge Manager,
Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge

Joyce Kleen, Wildlife Biologist
Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge

Suggested subject line: Comments on the Crystal River Management Plan


Thank you for your help on this important issue for manatees!


Additional Contact Information:
Joyce Kleen, Wildlife Biologist
Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge Complex
1502 S.E. Kings Bay Drive
Crystal River, FL 34429
E-mail: joyce_kleen@fws.gov