BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — On Thursday, two local lawmakers, representatives Rene Plasencia and Thad Altman, took a tour of the Indian River Lagoon to get an up-close look at issues contributing to increased manatee deaths.
“It’s the diminishing quality of the water that we have here, the loss of our sea grass, the loss of visibility which is one of the reasons we’re losing that sea grass and marine life, specifically the manatees,” Plasencia said.
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As of last week, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission had documented 905 manatee deaths this year. More than a third of those happened in Brevard County, primarily from starvation during the colder months when manatees migrated through areas of the Indian River Lagoon where the majority of sea grass has died off.
“The manatees could be the canary in the coal mine, so to speak, the thing that’s visible,” said Dr. Thomas Reinert, FWC regional director - south. “They’re dying because of the loss of sea grass, but so many things in the lagoon depend on seagrass juvenile invertebrates, juvenile fishes. It’s a food chain, actually a food web, everything is connected. You start to break those strands the web will collapse.”
READ: More than 800 manatees dead so far this year, Florida wildlife officials say
Altman said Brevard County residents showed their support for protecting the lagoon when they approved a half-cent sales tax for restoration projects like muck removal. But, he also said much more is needed in terms of stormwater management, septic tank removal, sewer upgrades and research.
READ: ‘A possibility of extinction’: Manatees dying at unprecedented rate in Florida