Florida wildlife officials close ‘Unusual Mortality Event’ as manatee starvation deaths decrease

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Manatees in Florida are slowly doing better after an effort to preserve their mortality and habitat, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The agency closed its “Unusual Mortality Event” along Florida’s east coast for the sea cows on March 14, according to its website.

An Unusual Mortality Event is an unexpected and significant amount of death among any marine mammal population that needs an immediate response under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA Fisheries states.

“It’s really good news that the UME is over. It’s just meaning that manatees have enough forage that they’re not dying off in large numbers,” said Dr. Beth Brady with the Save the Manatee Club.

Manatee mortality rates were increasing in 2021 due to a lack of forage and seagrass, causing manatees to starve, the FWC said.

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These numbers have now decreased and researchers have not documented a manatee death from starvation due to lack of forage for two years, the release states.

The FWC attributed the positive change to seagrass within the Indian River Lagoon area slowly growing back. Brady says there are some areas where they have been able to find adequate seagrass for foraging. However, there are still water quality concerns.

“A lot of agricultural runoff, storm water runoff, and leaky septic systems or septic tanks could also have a reoccurrence for another harmful algal bloom if we’re not careful,” Brady said.

However, this does not negate the unprecedented loss of manatees, the FWC said in a social media post. A recent FWC report shows 243 manatees died between Jan. 1 to March 21 this year, which is already a higher mortality rate than 2023 and 2024.

Dead manatee calves are also being found in Volusia and Brevard counties.

“This indicates that manatees are returning to reproduction but may not have the capacity to be able to bring calves to term. Most of these calves were stillborn,” Brady said.

Brady says that while it’s sad, there is also reason to be hopeful. Researchers have also seen a lot of manatee calves surviving, and they expect to see even more next year.

The FWC said it will continue to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor manatee populations and respond to those animals which need rescue and rehabilitation, along with supporting restoration efforts. The agency thanked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for the more-than $20 million in the 2022-23 state budget for taking care of injured and distressed manatees.

Those who want to learn more about helping manatees can click here.