With July 4th fast approaching there will be a lot of activity in and on the water. Please follow the below tips on boating to keep our marine wildlife safe. Follow Coast Guard-approved safe boating guidelines, comply with slow speed zone signs and use vigilance to avoid striking sea turtles, manatees and dolphins. Follow 10 [...]
2019 was a bad year for manatees in Florida. According to preliminary data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, boat strikes have killed 136 manatees. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) estimates that at least two – thirds of all Manatees have at one time experienced a boat strike. This despite [...]
Florida wildlife officials are concerned by the record number of manatee deaths by boat strikes. A report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) shows in the first half of 2019, 89 manatees had been killed by watercraft, compared to 65 during the same time period last year. The five-year average for the [...]
November is Manatee Awareness Month in Florida. It is also a time that they begin migrating to warmer inland waters. They may have left a little earlier this year due to an early November cold snap. When coastal water temperatures drop to 70 degrees, these tropical marine mammals move inland in search of warmer waters. [...]
Our friends at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have asked that we share this important information with our readers. In balmy spring weather, both manatees and boaters are cruising through Florida’s waterways. For manatees, it is a seasonal ritual when they abandon winter retreats and head north along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts [...]
One day after Manatee Appreciation Day was celebrated, the U.S. Department of Interior announced it was downlisting the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said that notable increases in the manatee populations and improvements in its habitat contributed to changing the species’ status under the Endangered Species [...]
Mote Marine Laboratory asked us to share this information with you as this is such a busy season with activity in and on the water. Dolphins give birth during late spring and summer. Dolphins do not, or cannot always get out of the way of approaching boats, and fatal collisions have been documented in Sarasota [...]
