Record Numbers of Manatees
Dying of Starvation in, 'Unprecedented'
Mortality Event.
'Newsweek' reports that a total of 841 manatee deaths were recorded by Florida's Fish and Wildlife Commission in the first half of 2021. .
Many of the deaths have been attributed to starvation due to a loss of seagrass.
Unprecedented manatee
mortality due to starvation was
documented on the Atlantic coast
this past winter and spring, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI),
via 'Newsweek'.
Most deaths occurred during
the colder months when
manatees migrated to
and through the Indian River
Lagoon where the majority
of seagrass has died off, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI),
via 'Newsweek'.
According to the institute, the long-term
health effects of "prolonged starvation" on
the remaining manatees are still unknown.
The death total of 841 is more than
double the five-year average of 352.
The seagrass reduction has been attributed to human-caused pollution.
This pollution, such as fertilizer runoff
and sewage leaks, causes algal blooms
to proliferate in the water.
The Indian River Lagoon has
experienced devastating losses
of seagrasses wherein more than
90% of the seagrass biomass has
been killed off by severe and
repeated harmful algal blooms.., Patrick Rose, aquatic biologist and executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, via 'Newsweek'.
...as the result of decades of nutrient pollution from human waste entering the IRL through the groundwater from leaching septic drain fields, poorly treated wastewater from municipal treatment facilities, and stormwater runoff containing fertilizers and other pollutants, Patrick Rose, aquatic biologist and executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, via Newsweek.
Rose said people can help by calling on their local, state and federal leaders to prevent pollution from happening in the first place and to cleanup existing pollution
