ECO ToURISM

with Chris Thalmann

With manatee season running through the end of March here in South Florida, I thought it’d be a good time for an update on how these peaceful creatures are faring. We see manatees year- round, but they’re more common during winter months when it’s too chilly elsewhere in Florida.

Regular readers might remember that last year the State of Florida started an emergency feeding program to help starving and undernourished manatees in the Indian River Lagoon, near Cocoa Beach. The goal of that program was to try to prevent as many manatee starvation deaths as possible.

Unfortunately, there were still hundreds of starvation-related manatee deaths in Florida in 2021/2022. But the 2021/2022 feeding program did demonstrate that wild manatees would eat from floating feeding stations near FPL’s Cocoa Beach power plant. Last season, Florida FWC fed manatees a little over 200,000 pounds of lettuce and cabbage as part of this program.

And although there appears to be some new seagrass growth in the far northern end of Indian River Lagoon, it will take years for once lush seagrass beds to recover and support natural manatee feeding. In the meantime, FWC is planning to continue and expand the feeding stations around Cocoa Beach.

For the ongoing 2022/2023 season, FWC estimates doubling the 2021/2022 amount, to roughly 400,000 pounds of lettuce and cabbage. FWC is still experimenting with different types of lettuce, and this year’s menu may include romaine, butter leaf and red leaf.

Manatees are both curious and cautious, and one of FWC’s challenges is establishing enough of a learned behavior among the feeding manatees to encourage others to come feed near the power plant. At the same time, FWC does not want to create a situation where manatees simply refuse to return to their home waters to graze as they normally would.

Last spring, that did not seem to be an issue. In addition to many other factors, FWC is closely monitoring the number of manatees in the vicinity of FPL’s Cocoa Beach power plant and the feeding station and will continue to do so after their feeding stations close for the season. This data will help better understand manatee feeding behaviors.

In case you’re wondering, the cost of this feeding program has been borne almost entirely by donations to the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida’s Marine Mammal Fund. If you’re interested in what the fund is doing, or you would like to donate, please visit: https://wildlifeflorida. givingfuel.com/marine-mammal-fund

We’re lucky to have a pretty healthy population of manatees here in South Florida and we see them almost every day on the water. The best place to see them from shore at Manatee Lagoon, right next to FPL’s West Palm Beach plant. Manatees love the warm water! Check out visitmanateelagoon. com and their manatee cam before you go.

Hope to see you on the water!

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