Emergency Red Tide Alert
Since the beginning of March, many manatee carcasses have been recovered throughout southwest Florida. Preliminary results indicate these manatees may have died from red tide exposure, primarily from ingesting red tide organisms while feeding in grassbeds. The current bloom stretches from Pinellas County south to Lee County.
Red tide blooms are made up of toxic, microscopic algae. The organism's plant pigments can cause the water to appear red, green or yellow. Low levels of red tide organisms are found in coastal Florida waters year round, but when conditions are right, blooms occur. These blooms not only affect manatees, but also affect other wildlife, fish, and humans.
What You Can Do To Help:
If you see a manatee "acting funny," it may be red tide intoxicated. Manatees exposed to red tide may appear to be struggling for breath, struggling to surface, or swimming lopsided.
Manatees exposed to red tide sometimes recover if they are rescued in time, so if you see a potentially red tide intoxicated manatee or an injured or dead manatee, please IMMEDIATELY call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) toll free at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922). You can also dial #FWC or *FWC on your cell phone or use VHF Channel 16 on your marine radio. You could save a life, and it's much better to do a rescue than a necropsy!
For further information about red tide and manatees, please visit FWCC's website at www.floridamarine.org.
