How Hurricane Ian impacted Florida manatees

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – November is Manatee Awareness Month in Florida, and the peaceable sea cow is coming into an essential time of 12 months when its survival is determined by people.

Last 12 months, greater than 1,000 manatees died due partly to the lack of their primary supply of meals, seagrass.

The largest contributor to the lack of that seagrass was algae blooms that are supported by the nutrient-rich freshwater runoff from inland and coastal areas.

“We know in Florida over the last two years, we’ve lost 24% of our manatee population,” shared J.P. Brooker, director of Florida Conservation for Ocean Conservancy. “In 2022 alone, as of October 21, we’ve lost 719. Manatees are dying because they’re starving to death, they starve to death because our waterways are compromised.”

READ: TECO’s Manatee Viewing Center is an opportunity to spend quality time with beloved sea cows

The primary waterways that manatees stay in Bay Area rivers and coastal areas the place seagrasses develop. Those areas had been instantly impacted in September as a pure catastrophe struck the state.

November is Manatee Awareness Month in Florida. 

“Hurricane Ian was a significant rainmaker, it was a significant nutrient enter supply for nitrogen and phosphorus,” stated Brooker.

Those vitamins are from fertilizers from business and residential lawns and decorative crops. Heavy rain and flooding occasions flood these areas washing the fertilizers into the rivers and canals that stream to the Gulf and Atlantic.

READ: ‘Oh my gosh!’: Curious golden retriever in Alabama spooks manatees — and herself

NASA photos confirmed the heavy freshwater runoff following Hurricane Ian. 

A girl from Lee County, who noticed Hurricane Ian’s impression first-hand, created a manatee sand sculpture to convey consideration to the plight of the manatee. 

We can’t forestall a hurricane from hitting Florida, however there are methods that Floridians may also help after a storm.

“We need consistent efforts in restoration to try to bring back seagrass resources and our seagrass meadows coast-wide,” Booker stated. “You would have to replant two acres of seagrass to approximate the services of one acre of seagrass in the wild. It’s not just a matter of replanting and restoring habitat, it’s also preserving the native seagrass that we still have and that’s going to be done by making sure we keep nutrients out of the water and we reduce the impacts of these harmful algal events.”

READ: Florida officials: Starvation threat not over for manatees

Bay Area cities and counties alongside the coast have fertilizer bans in effect in the summer months from June 1 through September 30. That helps to take away the nutrient supply through the wet season.

Hurricane Ian brought about heavy rains that washed fertilizers and vitamins within the waterways the place manatees stay. 

“We can’t really afford to lose many more (manatees). Manatees really are the canary in the coal mine for a lot of Florida’s water quality problem,” Brooker acknowledged. “Florida is home to manatees so there’s no migration. They live in Florida, that’s where they want to be.”

Residents need manatees right here too.

Brooker admitted, “We as Floridians love manatees.”

LINK: Learn extra concerning the Ocean Conservancy here.