Florida Halts Manatee Winter Feeding as Seagrass Conditions Improve
The decision comes as conditions have significantly improved for the threatened marine mammals, along with a positive recovery in the seagrass crucial to their survival.
The experimental program involved providing thousands of pounds of lettuce to manatees, which typically congregate in the winter months near the warm-water discharge of a power plant on Florida’s east coast.
State and federal wildlife officials initiated the program in response to pollution-induced seagrass depletion, contributing to 1,100 manatee deaths in 2021.
Despite the discontinuation of the feeding program, the official declaration of the manatee Unusual Mortality Event (UME) has not been made.
Researchers and managers are in the process of reviewing extensive data collected during this event before considering closing out the UME.
