News

By Tiare “TJ” Fridrich, Manatee Biologist

Manatee research and monitoring programs have been established throughout the state of Florida to collect data on manatee biology, reproduction, and habitat use. These data are used by government agencies to support effective manatee conservation programs. Historically, manatee research and data collection has focused on areas of the state where manatee activity is already known to be high or where there is significant manatee/boater overlap—typically in waterways adjacent to major urban areas. In less developed regions, or where manatee use isn’t well documented, there are often gaps in manatee data collection. Because gathering this information can be expensive, labor-intensive, and difficult to coordinate, there’s been less focus on areas with few official sightings—even if locals regularly observe manatees in those waterways.

One cost-effective way to collect more manatee data in these areas is through opportunistic public sighting submissions, like our Manatee Sighting Form. When someone sees a manatee in the wild, they can go to our website to submit key details such as the location, date and time, and behavior of the manatee. Save the Manatee Club staff have been recording these sightings since before our organization was founded, with data going back to the 1970s.

And a lot has changed since then. There are more people—and more manatees—in Florida than ever before. Yet, many of Florida’s lakes, rivers, and springs are impaired by development, nutrient pollution, and excessive water withdrawals, all of which have contributed to the decline of the aquatic plants manatees depend on for survival.

More recently, manatees have started moving into new areas of the state in search of food and better habitat. Locals living along the Florida Springs Coast, the Big Bend Region, and the Panhandle have reported seeing more manatees in their waterways than previously sighted. This trend aligns with shifts in seagrass coverage: while seagrass is declining in almost all other areas of Florida, the beds offshore of northwest Florida are thriving.

Despite this, there are still limited data on manatee activity in northwest Florida—and resource managers need this information to ensure manatees and their habitat are adequately protected. To close this data gap, we’ve partnered with several organizations along Florida’s west coast to encourage more manatee sighting submissions through our sighting form.

For the longest time, it was a common misconception that manatees don’t use the Weeki Wachee River—or only did so during the winter months. But recent sighting data submitted through our form shows that manatees are active in the region year-round, and the estuary serves as critically important habitat. In fact, thanks to local advocacy efforts, the county has proposed creating a manatee protection zone in the estuary to help reduce the risk of boat strikes.

We encourage you, our readers, to send us your manatee sightings, even if they aren’t recent. Submit them at savethemanatee.org/sighting. And if you’ve already submitted one, we thank you for helping us to collect this essential information!