Manatee deaths from boat strikes on record pace in Florida, with 71 killed so far in 2016

Boats are killing manatees in Florida at a record-setting pace this year.

As of July 22, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had counted 71 manatees killed by boats, compared with 58 manatees killed by boats by mid-July 2009. In 2009, a record 97 manatees died from boat strikes.

The Save the Manatee Club last week said cheaper gasoline, an improving economy, a mild winter and a hot summer have combined to put more boats on Florida waterways this year — with manatees caught in the traffic.

Discharges from Lake Okeechobee and runoff are adding to manatee woes in the Indian River Lagoon on Florida's east coast, where algae blooms are shading and killing sea grasses that are manatees primary food source.

All this comes as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service weighs whether increases in manatee populations in some parts of the state warrant moving the manatee from endangered to merely threatened status in Florida.

During fly-overs, more than 6,000 manatees have been counted each of the past two years.

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In a statement last week, the Save the Manatee Club rejected the argument that increases in boat-related manatee deaths are to be expected because manatee numbers are growing.

"We disagree," the club's statement said. "We believe that educated, compliant and watchful vessel operators are key."

Boating advocates say the blame lies not with scofflaw boaters but with federal agencies whose policies have polluted Florida waterways and reduced manatee habitat, making them more vulnerable to boat strikes.

"We're over carrying capacity," said Jim Kalvin, president of Standing Watch, a boater advocacy group.

Boaters, he said, should be as vigilant as ever to watch for manatees, especially given what he says is regulators' mismanagement of manatee populations.

"Boaters are just as much a victim as the manatees are," Kalvin said.

As of July 22, Lee County leads the state in boat-related manatee deaths with 11, followed by Volusia and Monroe counties with seven each, Collier with six and Brevard with five, FWC figures show.

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In Lee, manatees have been killed by boats in Redfish Pass, Orange River, Caloosahatchee River, Little Bokeelia Bay, Primo Bay, Jug Creek, Little Hickory Bay, Matlacha Pass, Estero Bay and Pine Island Sound.

Lee had 19 boat-related manatee deaths in 2009.

In Collier, manatees have been killed by boats in Halfway Creek Lake in Ochopee, Chokoloskee Bay, the Faka Union Canal, Caxambas Pass and Little Hickory Bay.

Collier's six boat-related manatee deaths this year have exceeded the five posted in all of 2009.

The Conservation Commission also tracks other causes of manatee deaths, including cold stress, natural causes and manatees that die soon after birth. Overall, manatee deaths this year number 336, compared with 429 in all of 2009.

This year, the Conservation Commission has counted 76 perinatal deaths, 21 cold stress deaths and 48 deaths by natural causes. In the largest category, the cause of 95 manatee deaths could not be determined,