VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Manatee conditions are starting to show some signs of improvement in the Indian River Lagoon, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The organization announced this week it would be ending its temporary feeding program in Brevard County. Experts News 6 talked to said the manatees are finding food in the Mosquito Lagoon now -- the Northern part of the Indian River Lagoon system in Volusia County.
“I think it’s cautiously very good news we’ve had some seagrass recovery, natural seagrass recovery,” said Dr. Patrick Rose, the Executive Director of the Save the Manatee nonprofit organization.
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Seagrass is manatees’ top food source and as of two years ago, 90% of it in the lagoon had been killed off by pollutants and algae blooms. That led to a record number of sea cows dying with the majority starving to death.
FWC began a lettuce feeding program in Brevard but now they’re stopping it as the manatee population gets healthier.
“I wouldn’t say the animals are fat by any means. There’s a lot more that has to happen to make sure they have enough food to eat,” Rose said.
FWC data on the number of deaths from 2021, 2022 and 2023 so far show signs of improvement with the number of deaths nearly cut in half now.
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Rose said the Mosquito Lagoon’s water quality has gotten slightly better, leading to natural seagrass regrowth. Down into Brevard, organizations like the zoo, are working to regrow and replant seagrass.
Rose said it’ll take improved water quality to make it successful throughout the entire Lagoon. It’s something these organizations are pushing for through legislation in the state and federally.
“These seagrasses could go away. This is a short-term recovery. The problem that caused the 77,000 acres to be lost is not fixed. We just sort of have a reprieve,” Rose said.
With more manatees in the Mosquito Lagoon now, the biologists are asking boaters to be extra vigilant and take care looking for them.
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