Manatee rescue team formed

Emergency group made after over 1K deaths

An unprecedented wave of death among manatees led state and federal wildlife agencies Thursday to set up an emergency response team to help the threatened marine mammals.

A loss of seagrass, a major source of food for manatees, in the Indian River Lagoon has been blamed for pushing this year’s death toll past 1,000. Authorities blame the decline in seagrass on pollution from farms, cities and sewage systems, worsened by climate change.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will cooperate in leading the emergency response team.

“We take this situation seriously and are committed to working with our partners, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to explore short-term solutions to the die-off, as well as muchneeded long-term solutions to restoring the lagoon ecosystem,” said Rodney Barreto, chairman of the Florida wildlife commission.

Shannon Estenoz, assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks in the U.S. Department of the Interior, called the situation an “unprecedented emergency.”

Manatees were reclassified from “endangered” to “threatened” by the federal government in 2017, a decision supported by the boating industry and coastal developers. At the time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the manatees’ prospects had improved, although the change had been opposed by environmentalists and outside scientists.

The joint team will allow agencies to coordinate their work more effectively, the two lead agencies said in a news release.

The manatee death toll hit 1,003 this week, the highest number ever. About 7,500 manatees live in Florida waters.