Florida manatees are migrating to warmer waters now temps have cooled.
Freshwater springs or canals adjacent to power plant outflows are big manatee magnets.
Adult manatees weigh 1,000 pounds or more but are susceptible to cold despite the blubber overcoat. Water temperatures 68 degrees or below can produce cold stress and even death in these mammals.
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Florida manatees are migrating to warmer waters now temps have cooled.
Seasonal manatee protection zones went into effect Nov. 15 in Lee and Sarasota counties and elsewhere along the Florida coasts. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission cautions boaters to slow down and watch out for manatees.
"Many manatees in Florida have scars from run-ins with boats," said Kipp Frohlich, FWC imperiled species management head. "Boaters should slow down where manatees like to congregate such as seagrass beds and warm-water sites."
Boaters and personal watercraft operators should look for signs manatees are close such as repetitive swirl patterns called a manatee footprint, a mud trail or a snout or fluke (tail) breaking the water's surface.
Fact Box
Seasonal manatee restrictions
Nov. 15-March 31
LEE COUNTY
No entry in discharge and intake canals of the Florida Power & Light Tice Power Plant
n Idle speed and slow speed in portions of the Intracoastal Waterway channel on the Caloosahatchee River near Tice Power Plant
25 mph limit on portions of Estero Bay, Hurricane Bay, Hell Peckney Bay and Hendry Creek
Unregulated: Cayo Costa, North Captiva, Captiva and St. James City areas
SARASOTA COUNTY
No entry on portion of Salt Creek and Warm Mineral Springs north of U.S. 41
Other steps personal watercraft operators can take to help manatees migrate safely:
keep vessels in marked channels;
wear polarized sunglasses to improve your vision;
obey posted boat speed zones;
use poles, paddles or trolling motors when close to manatees; and
have someone help scan the water when under way.
Report sick, distressed, injured, orphaned or entangled manatees to the FWC hotline at (888) 404-FWCC (3922).
