Gentle, beautiful and very large — all words used to describe manatees, a mammal native to Florida and the Caribbean.
J.P. Brooker, director of the Florida Conservation Program at the nation’s oldest marine conservation non-profit, said when manatees start to suffer, so does Florida.
“Manatees are a linchpin species of the Florida environment, and they're really the canary in the coal mine for a lot of environmental problems," Brooker said. “If our water quality is compromised, that kills sea grass, and that causes manatees to starve. If our water temperatures are often too warm because of climate change, that can also affect manatees' migration patterns. It can affect the food sources that they thrive on. So manatees really indicate to us a healthy Florida marine environment.”
Florida, an ocean state, relies on beaches and marine life, environmentally but also economically.
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“Our economy is directly tied to our healthy beaches," Brooker said. "We have billions of dollars of impacts to the state GDP are driven by healthy Florida beaches and environment."
Manatees have recently been facing an unusual mortality rate. In just the past two years, we lost 25% of the manatee population, with the creatures starving to death as human pollution kills the sea grass these mammals feed on. But with the help of Floridians, Brooker says the organization is hopeful the manatees can bounce back.
So what can South Floridians do to help? Avoid fertilizing lawns during the rainy season so the harmful chemicals don’t run off into coastal waterbeds, invest in better coastal infrastructure, and engage in the electoral process to keep Florida’s water clean.
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“Nobody wants to be in Florida if our environment is compromised," Brooker said. "People are coming here by the thousands to get a slice of our sunshine, our beaches, and our oceans.“
One key thing Floridians can also do is ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect manatees by re-listing the marine mammal as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. You can call your local representatives to make this change.
