News

Longwood, FL – As the summer season approaches, Save the Manatee Club® encourages all to practice safe boating and be a manatee advocate while enjoying Florida’s waterways. The Club offers a variety of free materials to help boaters look out for manatees while on the water, as well as the Adopt-A-Manatee® program, which has provided funding to ensure stronger protections for all species of imperiled manatees and their essential aquatic habitats.  

Manatees are particularly vulnerable to watercraft collisions. They are slow-moving, surface frequently to breathe, and spend much of their time in shallow waters feeding, all of which increase their risk of encountering boats and other watercraft. Even when manatees survive these collisions, they are often left with severe injuries, including mutilated tails and flippers, along with prominent scarring. These injuries are so common that researchers frequently use a manatee’s scar pattern to identify specific individuals. 

Ester, who is part of the Adopt-A-Manatee® program, is one such manatee who is identified by her scars, and her family has a history with watercraft. She is part of a multigenerational manatee matriarchy at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida, starting with her grandmother, Emma. Ester’s mother and grandmother both lost calves to encounters with watercraft, and many of Ester’s siblings and calves bear scars from boat strikes; constant reminders of the devastating impact watercraft collisions can have on manatees.  

There is hope—conscientious boaters can play a vital role in preventing strikes and in ensuring that sick or injured manatees are quickly reported for rescue. In many cases, caring boaters who take the time to report a distressed manatee have directly contributed to successful rescue and rehabilitation efforts, with many of these manatees alive today because someone chose to act. Another adoptable manatee, Illusion, was able to receive care for severe injuries due to a compassionate citizen seeing her and notifying the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission so a rescue team could intervene and save her life. 

Fortunately, many watercraft collisions are preventable. While out on the water this summer, keep in mind that an adoptable manatee may be nearby and follow these few guidelines to protect manatees and their habitats: 

• Always obey posted speed zones. Boater guides are available by county if you are visiting a new location to inform you of the manatee zones ahead of time. 

• Wear polarized sunglasses that reduce the glare of the sun and allow better penetration through the water’s surface to be able to spot manatees more easily. 

• Have a designated spotter on the vessel to watch out for manatee sightings. Vocalize when snouts, backs, paddles, or flippers are seen breaking the surface or when a manatee “footprint” is spotted (ripples on the water’s surface caused by a manatee’s paddle). 

• Check around your vessel before starting your motor to make sure there are no manatees nearby. 

• Avoid boating over seagrass beds or shallow areas whenever possible. The hull/propeller can damage seagrass and grazing manatees alike. 

• If you see a manatee while operating a watercraft, cut your motor and observe from a distance. Do not offer food or water or reach out to touch them. 

• When jet-skiing, water-skiing, or participating in high-speed watersports, try to choose areas that manatees do not or cannot frequent, such as landlocked lakes or waters well offshore. 

• Anglers and fishermen: be sure to dispose of your fishing line properly in a fishing line recycling bin. 

• Report injured, sick, orphaned, or deceased manatees to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission by calling (888) 404-FWCC (3922). 

Save the Manatee Club® offers free materials to help safeguard manatees by increasing awareness with manatee-safe boating tips. Boaters can request a packet that includes a safety tips card and educational information about manatees. Shoreline property owners and park or marina managers can order aluminum dock signs, alerting others to the presence of manatees in their areas. Boaters and paddlers alike can request a waterproof boat banner and a decal to adhere to your vessel with the number to report manatees in distress. See savethemanatee.org/resources to view and request materials. 

Funds from Save the Manatee Club’s Adopt-A-Manatee® program directly support Save the Manatee Club® in its mission to protect all manatees and their aquatic habitats, including emergency rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts; education and public awareness programs; and other critical life-saving work to address the ongoing challenges faced by all imperiled manatees. To Adopt-A-Manatee® like Ester or Illusion, visit savethemanatee.org/adopt or call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646). 

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Save the Manatee Club was established in 1981 by the late renowned singer-songwriter, author, and entrepreneur Jimmy Buffett, along with the late former Florida Governor and U.S. Senator Bob Graham. The Club is dedicated to safeguarding manatees and preserving their aquatic habitat. For more information about manatees and the Club’s efforts, visit savethemanatee.org or call 1-800-432-JOIN (5646).