November is typically when manatees return to Florida’s warmer waters from their summer migratory routes because their winter survival depends upon water generally warmer than 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recognizing that public awareness is key to protecting manatees from harmful human activity, former Florida Gov. Bob Graham first declared November as Manatee Awareness Month in 1979.
With more than 1.2 million registered watercraft plying state waters, boat strikes are a continuing major threat to Florida manatees. Boat strikes on the manatee’s body can quickly result in death or in chronic injuries that linger for days, weeks, or longer before the manatee finally succumbs.
According to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 90 manatees died last year after being struck by speeding watercraft. Preliminary FWC data for this year shows 67 manatee deaths from boat strikes with three occurring in Citrus County waters.
Boat strikes, however, are preventable, if boaters simply abide by commonsense practices.
Most importantly is to make it a practice to respect the regulatory signs and seasonal manatee zones requiring boaters to slow down. Another simple preventative measure is to wear polarized glasses and, when sighting manatees, to give them maneuver space.
Boaters should also remember that manatees are a protected species and that it is illegal to feed, harass, disturb or harm them. In this regard, boaters should take care not to disturb manatees at warm-water sites because such activity can cause them to swim out of protected areas and into potentially life-threatening cold water.
With about 6,000 manatees in all of Florida, per the nonprofit organization Save the Manatee, the record 1,101manatee deaths in 2021, caused primarily by starvation, has the Florida manatee once again teetering on the brink of extinction.
This has made the protection of Florida manatees an imperative, as affirmed by the fact that the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge is the only national refuge in the U.S. that was specifically created in 1983 to protect habitats for the Florida manatee.
To better understand and appreciate the importance of protecting our Florida manatee from extinction, residents and visitors are encouraged to visit the Refuge’s recently opened Visitor Center that’s a rare educational gem. Upon entering, one is immersed in an underwater world of exciting educational and interactive displays that make learning about the manatee and its habitats a memorable adventure.
Individually, we cannot protect the Florida manatee from such threats such as cold water stress, red tide, reduced spring flows, habitat loss and declining access to warm water. However, we can aid its survival by being educated about and respectful of the manatee and its winter home.
— Citrus County Chronicle
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