FWC Report – Manatee Deaths Exceed Annual Record

Tallahassee, FL – The 2021 preliminary manatee mortality report, issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) last week shows that between January 1 and July 2, 2021, at least 841 manatees have died. Most have been verified but not necropsied so the cause of death is unknown. In February, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy sent a letter to the Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ask them to look into the deaths, saying that "reports indicate that many manatees may be starving due to a decline in seagrass, their primary food source." FWC Investigating UME In Indian River Lagoon While the biggest number of deaths, 312, were recorded in Brevard County, more than 100 are documented in Volusia County. From the report: "Unprecedented manatee mortality due to starvation was documented on the Atlantic coast this past winter and spring. 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. Because of the large number of manatee deaths documented in this Atlantic event, the preliminary statewide mortality number for the first half of 2021 hassurpassed the previous highest annual statewide number of 830 mortalities from 2013." You can see the complete report at myfwc.org.