Manatee Mortality in Broward County
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) lists 8 categories of manatee deaths:
- Watercraft
- Flood Gate/Canal Lock
- Other Human-Related
- Perinatal
- Cold Stress
- Other Natural
- Undetermined
- Verified/Not Recovered
For detailed descriptions of these categories, go to the FWC Manatee web site, click Mortality Reports and then Descriptions of Manatee Death Categories.
2009: FWC personnel have recovered 13 carcasses from January 1 through April 2, 2009. Two were water-craft related, both carcasses recovered on the South Fork New River. Four manatees died of natural causes, 2 of which were cold stress. Five the manatees were too decomposed to determine the cause of death and the remaining 2 mortalities have not had a cause assigned yet. The necropsy results are pending for these mortalities.
2008: There have been 5 reported manatee deaths in Broward County from November through December 2008. One death was watercraft related, 3 were perinatal, and 1 was undetermined.
2007: There were 4 reported manatee deaths: 2 undetermined, 1 other human-related, and 1 watercraft.
2006: There were 15 reported manatee deaths, 6 of which were watercraft-related.
2005: Nine manatee deaths were reported with 2 categorized as watercraft related.
See a graphic in PDF format (1.3MB) showing the locations that manatee carcasses were recovered from 2005-2008.
Broward County encourages residents to watch for and report manatees to the Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department. If you spot a manatee in the county, download the manatee sighting report form (PDF - 32KB) and return the completed form to the address listed on the bottom.
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For more information, contact the Environmental Protection and Growth Management Department’s Natural Resources Planning and Management Division at 954-519-1284.
