More than 4,500 sea turtles were rescued from the cold water in January, but manatee carcasses continue to appear, putting the deaths for 2010 at more than 200, Florida Fish & Wild Life Conservation Commission (FWC) said today. By comparison, the highest number of manatee deaths for a single calendar year is 429. The figures are astounding and unprecedented, the Commission said.
The state’s wildlife agency launched massive efforts to rescue, save and recover the cold-stressed animals and saved the lives of at least 80 percent of rescued sea turtles. Since the beginning of the year, biologists have rescued more than a dozen manatees statewide and transported them to rehabilitation facilities as needed, and transported manatee carcasses to the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s lab in St. Petersburg for examination. Volunteers, other government agencies and partners from the corporate world all assisted in the efforts during this unprecedented event.
FWC says that the public can help efforts to conserve and fund research for both sea turtles and manatees by purchasing a specialty license plate or decal. The extra fee for the sea turtle tag helps fund the Sea Turtle Grants Program.
Approximately 30 percent is distributed to the grants program, which is administered by the nonprofit Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Visit www.helpingseaturtles.org for more information. The other 70 percent of tag revenue goes to the FWC’s Marine Turtle Protection Program to support research and management activities related to sea turtles. License plate funds were an important source of funds used to support the rescue of the sea turtles during the January cold snap.
The money generated from the extra fee for manatee plates goes to the implementation of the FWC’s manatee management plan. This comprehensive, strategic plan aims to manage the manatee population into the future by securing habitat and minimizing threats. The manatee plan includes key research, rescue and management conservation measures necessary to maintain manatees throughout the state.
For more information, please go to: myfwc.com
