2021 marks deadliest year for manatees in Florida recorded history

At least 841 manatees have died in Florida waters so far in 2021, marking the deadliest year for manatees in the state’s recorded history, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers.

According to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), nearly 53 percent of the dead manatees were found in five neighboring counties: Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin. FWC data found that 312 manatees died in Brevard County, the outlet reported. 

The previous record was set in 2013, when 830 manatees died over the course of the entire year.

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) said in its report that manatees are starving to death during the winter and springtime, when the majority of seagrass has died out. 

Pollution of waterways through urban and agricultural development is contributing to the deaths by putting into the water nitrogen and phosphorus that feeds algal blooms, which choke off seagrass, a major food source for manatees.

FWRI also said that boating accidents are a factor in manatee deaths, with 63 manatees dying due to boat crashes, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. 

The FWC in March declared manatee death as an Unusual Mortality Event, which allows state and federal government officials to aid FWC in its investigation of the cause and in preventing any more deaths of the animals. 

According to Treasure Coast Newspapers, 16 environmental groups and clean water-dependent businesses have urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to declare a state of emergency on the growing issue. 

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Interior listed the West Indian manatee as “threatened” under its federal Endangered Species Act, Treasure Coast Newspapers reported. They had previously been listed as “endangered.” 

House Reps. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) are co-sponsors of the Marine Mammal Research and Response Act. Introduced in April, the act would allow $7 million to be funded each year to protect wildlife and study their rapid deaths. 

The head of the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, Edie Widder, told Treasure Coast Newspapers that this is a “mayday call for the environment.”  

“We’re mammals, like these same mammals, and these are warning us that we’re contaminating our environment in all kinds of scary ways.”