# Loss of sea grass in Mosquito Lagoon killing manatees



## knot_trying (Oct 28, 2020)

Affect both fish and manatees - sound pretty bad down there



https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/12/07/manatees-florida-feeding-program/


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## Austin Todd 7 (Dec 7, 2021)

I have lived in Central Florida and fished the Lagoon my entire life and it's criminal to see what has happened out there in just the last 5-10 years. We altered the manatee migration with the power plants and warm water discharge. Now the Lagoon and Indian River have WAY too many manatees for the ecosystem to handle because they never leave the area like they used to. Like 90% of their main food source, the sea grass, has died off in just the last maybe 8-10 years. Again, our fault with the numerous nutrients that we have been pumping into the Lagoons. The nutrients cause algae blooms which obstruct the life and growth of the sea grass. 

So we have way more manatees than our ecosystem can handle and we killed all their food. The little sea grass that does grow, they mow it down because they are starving. All of this is man-made issues and instead of fixing the above problems, they want to bring more nutrients into the Lagoon to feed the manatees which will make it worse. 

This isn't even a band aid. It'd be like pouring gas on a fire. Because of this eventually, more of the manatees will die. I'm ready to see us fix the problems and get those goofy suckers migrating again like they're supposed to. That way, when they migrate back in the Spring, we might actually have some food for them. 

Then maybe we can get back to those days I remember of crystal clear water on lush grass flats and the best Redfish sight fishing that this planet has to offer. 

Thanks for posting the article! More people need to know what is happening in our Lagoons. There aren't as many houses on the Mosquito Lagoon so it is more isolated and people don't hear about the problems occurring.


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## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

seems like if the grass is depleted they would migrate out to their old spots. if their old spots are trashed too then yeah.


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## Fernando Perez (May 7, 2021)

That’s so sad. I wish I got to fish the lagoon in its prime


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## KnotHome (Jul 21, 2009)

Sewage “spills” from local communities directly into the water ways and the unwillingness of places like Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge to prioritize water quality and restoration is beyond frustrating.


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## Vinny L (Oct 20, 2020)

The hole fucking world is going to shit!!


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

There’s always someone trying to shove climate change propaganda down everyone’s throats and people believe it just like all the other nonsense going on right now. It’s a population problem (too many people) and dumping their waste and chemicals in the water. The “climate change” is cyclic.


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

I lived in Titusville during the late 80's and 90's. Had one of the first whiprays built. The mosquito lagoon and Indian River were full of life. Shorelines with waving redfish tails as far as you could see. Trout long as your leg laid up in sand patches you couldn't make eat anything it was a wonderful place 

Recently I was sent to Melbourne to build a hotel. I was looking forward to fishing the Indian River once again. To my dismay that river was dead. I can't believe how it changed. No doubt humans are a scourge on this earth.


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## SMG (Dec 4, 2021)

Fished it late 80's through 2007. The decline followed the development. And over harvest of what once was a viable clam population didn't help water clarity one bit. IRL super clam project is underway and they report their restocking efforts of clams is showing signs of success. It'll take some time.


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## Vinny L (Oct 20, 2020)

SMG said:


> Fished it late 80's through 2007. The decline followed the development. And over harvest of what once was a viable clam population didn't help water clarity one bit. IRL super clam project is underway and they report their restocking efforts of clams is showing signs of success. It'll take some time.


Similar to the GSB on LI. We raked it clean in the 60-late 70s. Water dirtied fish left. Recently, last few years since Sandy blew open an old breach (cleaning things up) coupled with the effects of Covid on the commercial fishing industry has fishing picked up. In some areas incredibly so. Humans do have a tendency of fuckin shit up..But mother nature reins supreme.


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

I


SMG said:


> Fished it late 80's through 2007. The decline followed the development. And over harvest of what once was a viable clam population didn't help water clarity one bit. IRL super clam project is underway and they report their restocking efforts of clams is showing signs of success. It'll take some time.


I remember all the clam beds. Greed got them. Back then water clarity was great and the grass beds were thick and lush. The biggest complaints I heard was the pressure on the redfish in the lagoon. People buzzing the flats to make redfish schools hump up and reveal themselves. I would only fish the lagoon during the week. The fishing in the river was just as good and those fish didn't get pressured so much. I liked the east side of the river north of the NASA causeway. Lots of happy reds and you could catch some nice trout but you had to get out of the boat and wade. Even with my whipray those trout would get lockjaw with a boat anywhere around. Now we are talking big trout that always should be released.


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## SMG (Dec 4, 2021)

rickc said:


> I
> 
> I remember all the clam beds. Greed got them. Back then water clarity was great and the grass beds were thick and lush. The biggest complaints I heard was the pressure on the redfish in the lagoon. People buzzing the flats to make redfish schools hump up and reveal themselves. I would only fish the lagoon during the week. The fishing in the river was just as good and those fish didn't get pressured so much. I liked the east side of the river north of the NASA causeway. Lots of happy reds and you could catch some nice trout but you had to get out of the boat and wade. Even with my whipray those trout would get lockjaw with a boat anywhere around. Now we are talking big trout that always should be released.


Yessir, it was fishing heaven. I remember cauldron like schools of Redfish larger than anywhere else I have fished. Those Gator Trout encounters were frequent back in the day. And man they were fun on those topwater bagely mullet.The old wood version without a rattle did not spook them as much. Good times.


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

There was a large school of huge redfish that always hung out on tiger shoals. The water would turn red when that school came to the top.

I perfered fly fishing for tailers in the shallows though.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

Austin Todd 7 said:


> I have lived in Central Florida and fished the Lagoon my entire life and it's criminal to see what has happened out there in just the last 5-10 years. We altered the manatee migration with the power plants and warm water discharge. Now the Lagoon and Indian River have WAY too many manatees for the ecosystem to handle because they never leave the area like they used to. Like 90% of their main food source, the sea grass, has died off in just the last maybe 8-10 years. Again, our fault with the numerous nutrients that we have been pumping into the Lagoons. The nutrients cause algae blooms which obstruct the life and growth of the sea grass.
> 
> So we have way more manatees than our ecosystem can handle and we killed all their food. The little sea grass that does grow, they mow it down because they are starving. All of this is man-made issues and instead of fixing the above problems, they want to bring more nutrients into the Lagoon to feed the manatees which will make it worse.
> 
> ...


You have to go back a little farther in history but your right, it is totally a man made problem. The manatees are only a symptom of a bigger illness. Most people do not know that the Saint Lucie River and the Caloosahatchee river were not even connected to Lake O until the Corp came in and dredged it out (actually the Calusa Indians dug a canoe ditch for commerce to Lake O). The water used to flow south from Lake O to the Everglades. Just one of many man made errors in an attempt to drain the swamps of Florida, like straightening the Kissimmee river into a ditch. All the nutrients from central Florida flow south and end up in Lake O, and then they are diverted to the east and west coast. A lot of talk and some action has taken place recently to fix the problem, but it is just the tip of the iceberg of what it is going to take to restore the water quality. I applaud our Governor for starting the process, but I have my doubts if any political officer holder will have the political strength and public support to make the changes to affect real change. The changes it will take will be very painful.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

If we make a good start today - and keep at it, we're looking at 30 to 50 years sorting out the mistakes and problems we've caused in our waters... The natural freshwater here in Florida should be nearly nutrient free - pure hydro - limestone waters... Restoring that will provide good jobs at every level (young'uns with the right skills would have careers the moment they came out of college - or trade school for their entire lives...). Of course it would take a ton of money (and any young or not so young politician who says "We need to raise taxes to pay for it..." is not likely to get re-elected...).

One hundred years ago the big lake (Lake Okeechobee) was only 8 feet deep if what I've read is true... Every year during flood season it would double in size - to the south with no boundaries from year to year... All of that has been gone for years and years. Today that lake is nearing 14 feet at times - courtesy of the dikes and other interventions that we've made. It no longer flows south to support the Everglades - instead we've been pumping polluted waters out to our coastal areas and just destroying inshore marine areas as a result... Wish it weren't so...


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

All to protect the Everglades Agricultural Area and Big Sugar. The south Florida water management spends millions to control the water for these Sugar Barons to the detriment of the river of grass and the marine environment to the east and west due to water diversion.



Redirect Notice


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

I was talking with a fellow fishermen the other day who had recently moved to Florida. He said it is all big sugars fault, they are the reason we have polluted waters. I asked him if he owned a home here and he said yes, asked him if he fertilizes his yard and he said yes, I told him he is part of the problem also. Point being, yes big sugar is part of the problem, but we are all part of the problem. Not only was water diverted to the east and west coast to create more room for agriculture like big sugar, but it was also done to reduce flooding for all the growing communities along the east coast and south of the lake. The billions they are spending now is just a deposit for it is going to cost to restore the water quality.


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

The upper Indian River damage is caused by coastal development. Septic tanks, manicured lawns over fertilized, lawn chemicals and untreated storm water runoff. This is an even harder problem to fix then the Everglades. To many people. They all want to live on the water. Basically all our rivers and coastal areas need at least a mile buffer with no development. Many states are trying to buy up buffers along their rivers. I know we have done a lot of it here in Wakulla county but we have tons of public land and coastal marshes not attractive to beach crowd.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

rickc said:


> The upper Indian River damage is caused by coastal development. Septic tanks, manicured lawns over fertilized, lawn chemicals and untreated storm water runoff. This is an even harder problem to fix then the Everglades. To many people. They all want to live on the water. Basically all our rivers and coastal areas need at least a mile buffer with no development. Many states are trying to buy up buffers along their rivers. I know we have done a lot of it here in Wakulla county but we have tons of public land and coastal marshes not attractive to beach crowd.


Problems in the Indian River, Mosquito Lagoon, Lake O, Caloosahatchee River, Matlacha Pass, and the Everglades are all directly connected to each other, it is one big Ecosystem. If you send phosphate loaded water south from the Indian River, the nutrient load will have a negative affect on everything down stream. The problem is we are treating the symptoms not the disease. On the original topic about the manatees, having dealt with this issue for years, I predict that USF&W they will put the manatees back on the endangered species list and push for drastic changes to improve water quality. In the 90's they imposed a 2 year moratorium on building new docks in Lee County as they pushed for new manatee slow speed zones. Standby, this battle has just begun.


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## southerncannuck (Jun 27, 2016)

I seem to remember that Governor Crist had a contract to buy almost all of the sugar farm land in the Everglades. 186,000 acres I think but governor Scott let the option expire. Big loss for our waters.


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

southerncannuck said:


> I seem to remember that Governor Crist had a contract to buy almost all of the sugar farm land in the Everglades. 186,000 acres I think but governor Scott let the option expire. Big loss for our waters.


Big Sugar holds 500,000 acres of the Everglades Agricultural Area. 186,000 would make a dent but the political clout of the sugar barons make it difficult to do anything about it.

And the really crazy thing about is Americans pay more for sugar than anybody else in the world. 











Sugar's decades-long hold over Florida Everglades came with a price


TALLAHASSEE




www.google.com


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## SMG (Dec 4, 2021)

I thought this was about Mosquito Lagoon, sea grass and manatees..


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

SMG said:


> I thought this was about Mosquito Lagoon, sea grass and manatees..


The mosquito lagoon is at the north end of the indian river which extends all the way to Jupiter. I would say the mosquito lagoon is is better shape then a lot of the rest of the system. It seems most of the starving manatees are in the indian river and not mosquito lagoon. That is where the state is setting up supplemental feeding.

The south end of the indian river not only has the impact of development to deal with but also the diversion of water from the AAG.





__





Rivers Coalition - Save our River, Stop the Discharges - Dedicated to restoring and preserving our St. Lucie River!






riverscoalition.org


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## SMG (Dec 4, 2021)

rickc said:


> The mosquito lagoon is at the north end of the indian river which extends all the way to Jupiter. I would say the mosquito lagoon is is better shape then a lot of the rest of the system. It seems most of the starving manatees are in the indian river and not mosquito lagoon. That is where the state is setting up supplemental feeding.
> 
> The south end of the indian river not only has the impact of development to deal with but also the diversion of water from the AAG.
> 
> ...


I know the system well as I fished most of it. Look at the bright side, whether one looks at the micro level with the super clam project effort to improve Lagoon and IRLwater clarity or the Oyster culturing in Apalachicola for resource sustainability or at the macro level, there are things being done that will hopefully help address some of the challenges. Nice to see a Governor attempting to make good on a few campaign promises for a change. SFWMD Governing Board Approves Contract to Build Lower Kissimmee Water Quality Project


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

southerncannuck said:


> I seem to remember that Governor Crist had a contract to buy almost all of the sugar farm land in the Everglades. 186,000 acres I think but governor Scott let the option expire. Big loss for our waters.


If I remember correctly they were going to buy it for 450 million. I think if the state had moved faster they could have bought it, but in the end if I remember correctly Big Sugar decided to back out also. In my opinion we should just simply tell Big Sugar that they cannot discharge any waters off their property that is not clean. I believe the laws are in place already but they just need to be enforced.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

rickc said:


> Big Sugar holds 500,000 acres of the Everglades Agricultural Area. 186,000 would make a dent but the political clout of the sugar barons make it difficult to do anything about it.
> 
> And the really crazy thing about is Americans pay more for sugar than anybody else in the world.
> 
> ...


Yep the Federal Government subsidize the sugar industry, that needs to end!


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## rickc (Nov 7, 2018)

Steve_Mevers said:


> Yep the Federal Government subsidize the sugar industry, that needs to end!


America is a great place for the wealthy. If you have the money to buy the political clout you can set yourself up a never ending gravy train. We The People pay for it.
.


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## Moore Lyon and Quick (Aug 26, 2015)

Real problem is population growth - growth rates from 1990 - 2020:


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Moore Lyon and Quick said:


> Real problem is population growth - growth rates from 1990 - 2020:
> View attachment 191256


Yessir and much of the coastal areas are faced with the same issues.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

Sugar cane farming in most of the USA is border line profitable without Federal subsidies....The corruption of Democracy continues with our tax dollars working against the people and our incredible natural resources...all based on emotional manipulation of voting on right to life and gun control...no term limits except president. Frosted Flakes would be too expensive


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## mcgreezy (Dec 8, 2021)

Austin Todd 7 said:


> I have lived in Central Florida and fished the Lagoon my entire life and it's criminal to see what has happened out there in just the last 5-10 years. We altered the manatee migration with the power plants and warm water discharge. Now the Lagoon and Indian River have WAY too many manatees for the ecosystem to handle because they never leave the area like they used to. Like 90% of their main food source, the sea grass, has died off in just the last maybe 8-10 years. Again, our fault with the numerous nutrients that we have been pumping into the Lagoons. The nutrients cause algae blooms which obstruct the life and growth of the sea grass.
> 
> So we have way more manatees than our ecosystem can handle and we killed all their food. The little sea grass that does grow, they mow it down because they are starving. All of this is man-made issues and instead of fixing the above problems, they want to bring more nutrients into the Lagoon to feed the manatees which will make it worse.
> 
> ...


No pun intended... but the downstream / current effects (or lack there of) resulting from the system of dikes at MIWR are the true culprit. Going to take a lot of lobbying and environmental impact assessment to overcome this challenge...


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## Kevin Ramirez (Oct 5, 2017)

I recently moved to central FL from south FL and had always heard how beautiful the lagoon was and how spectacular the fishing was. Since being here, I've been out a several times and on most days you can't see the bottom unless your in less than 6". On good days, the water is clear and all you see is a muddy bottom devoid of grass... I got curious and played with Google earth's time series... it appears the grass started dying off around 2013... its pretty stunning to see the difference between now and then...


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## southerncannuck (Jun 27, 2016)

Kevin Ramirez said:


> I recently moved to central FL from south FL and had always heard how beautiful the lagoon was and how spectacular the fishing was. Since being here, I've been out a several times and on most days you can't see the bottom unless your in less than 6". On good days, the water is clear and all you see is a muddy bottom devoid of grass... I got curious and played with Google earth's time series... it appears the grass started dying off around 2013... its pretty stunning to see the difference between now and then...


Ain’t development great? Sheesh, there’s no hope. The politicians in charge think golf courses are nature.


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## Kevin Ramirez (Oct 5, 2017)

southerncannuck said:


> Ain’t development great? Sheesh, there’s no hope. The politicians in charge think golf courses are nature.


I couldn't agree more. Politicians, bad planning, and lack of communication between the municipalities that directly affect the lagoon and surrounding areas are to blame here. We all know the intricacies at play know no boarders; however, most municipality's guidelines and restrictions end at their respective imaginary boundary.


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## Moore Lyon and Quick (Aug 26, 2015)

Problem is money and jobs - according to FWC, rec fishing contributions:









sounds like a lot but compared to real estate, not so much:










Don't forget the golf industry which is most likely more economically important than fishing and contributes it's own water quality issues:










Cleaner water will require additional water treatment capacity, and maybe some restrictions on commercial /residential fertilizer use. I do think that when water quality consistently impacts real estate values (think wealthy, water front homeowners) something may get done.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

sjrobin said:


> Sugar cane farming in most of the USA is border line profitable without Federal subsidies....The corruption of Democracy continues with our tax dollars working against the people and our incredible natural resources...all based on emotional manipulation of voting on right to life and gun control...no term limits except president. Frosted Flakes would be too expensive


The recent deletion of the Everglades reservoir from the billion dollar Federal water management budget proves the point.


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## southerncannuck (Jun 27, 2016)

It’s said that the water fountains in the state capitol flow with sugar water. The two multi billionaire sugar families control the legislature and the governor.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

Hanlons Razor. 

You know. There is no appeasing the environmental folk. Even if you do them a solid they just make a rude comment and look the other way. Im the first guy to protect the environment but some of this stuff is so stupid. I talked to a man I thought was smart the other day at a boat ramp named John, some of you probably know this character. He told me the current Florida administration was terrible about the environment blah blah. So I said. "Sorry Im not in the know but what has Florida done to repair the everglades in the last 50 years before the last 15 or so? I was under the understanding that there was alot of work underway at the moment." 

He basically told me a story about how the only reason republicans are allowing the flow of water is so their wells don't get encroached on by salt water and its just to protect real estate values. The funny thing is that having the Tamimiami as a dike is going to cause more hydraulic pressure and force more salt water out most likely. 

This man can't be pleased, he is very smart. He will naysay anyone and everyone that is not on his political level and that is what causes these issues. It is all about compromise on both sides. But there is NOTHING WORSE then compromising what you think then be treated like crap for it. Thats why the environmental folks dont get what they want. The wealthy have basically forced conservation on the 99% for 100 years. Now they act like everyone can be bought for a buck. If you think thats how everyone operates maybe its time to look at yourself...what have you done to fix the lagoon?

Rant over.


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## mwolaver (Feb 6, 2014)

Drifter said:


> Hanlons Razor.
> 
> You know. There is no appeasing the environmental folk. Even if you do them a solid they just make a rude comment and look the other way. Im the first guy to protect the environment but some of this stuff is so stupid. I talked to a man I thought was smart the other day at a boat ramp named John, some of you probably know this character. He told me the current Florida administration was terrible about the environment blah blah. So I said. "Sorry Im not in the know but what has Florida done to repair the everglades in the last 50 years before the last 15 or so? I was under the understanding that there was alot of work underway at the moment."
> 
> ...


You leave my favorite guy waiting for us at that ramp alone! lmao... Ask him about anything, and try to get free...


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## acesover (Aug 21, 2015)

I was born and raised in Melbourne. been here since the 50's and to see what has happened to both the Indian and Banana river lagoon system is a travesty. The housing development I live in lets the rain water drain into the river, as most of the older ones do. I quit fertilizing, spraying for bugs and just let the yard go. I don't care if it's nothing but Torpedo grass. At least I am not contributing to the problem. 
As far as the manatees go, if you feed them, they will become dependent on the food source and will not forage on their own. So that will probably do more harm than good. And the relentless building they are doing will seal the fate of this part of the state,


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## loganlogan (May 8, 2020)

acesover said:


> I was born and raised in Melbourne. been here since the 50's and to see what has happened to both the Indian and Banana river lagoon system is a travesty. The housing development I live in lets the rain water drain into the river, as most of the older ones do. I quit fertilizing, spraying for bugs and just let the yard go. I don't care if it's nothing but Torpedo grass. At least I am not contributing to the problem.
> As far as the manatees go, if you feed them, they will become dependent on the food source and will not forage on their own. So that will probably do more harm than good. And the relentless building they are doing will seal the fate of this part of the state,


If the cows become dependent on hand feeding, and stop foraging, won't the grass come back some?


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## m32825 (Jun 29, 2018)

How about the areas that are too shallow for manatees? That must have been killed off by light deprivation due to the brown algae bloom.

I launched out of Scottsmoor the week after Christmas and was encouraged to find a lot of clear water. Unfortunately, most of what I could clearly see was a sand desert with no vegetation. I don't have a solution for manatees, but seems like we could plant sprigs in areas too shallow for them and get some redfish habitat going. If someone knows of an initiative like that I'd sign up for work on my old haunts.


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## acesover (Aug 21, 2015)

loganlogan said:


> If the cows become dependent on hand feeding, and stop foraging, won't the grass come back some?


Maybe, but who is going to pay for the food and do the feeding? Plus I think this program is for one small area by a power plant.


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## Kevin Ramirez (Oct 5, 2017)

I hate to say it but the manatees dying from lack of food is probably the best way to point out how bad the water quality is. Historically, the potential loss of large, "cute" mammals is enough to sway public opinion and bring attention to the root causes...


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## JC Designs (Apr 5, 2020)

Romaine is $34-$40 a case depending on the market. A manatee in the wild consumes roughly 10% of it’s body weight in a single day. Just food for thought “pun intended”. Should have gotten the check book out a long time ago and made the changes! This shit has been coming on for several decades now! And now, we pay the piper with mother nature’s check book! God speed


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## Kevin Ramirez (Oct 5, 2017)

At my former job where we worked for a municipality, the joke was they never had the money to do it right the first but always had the money to do it right the second time...


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## JC Designs (Apr 5, 2020)

To date since the manatee die off we have spent roughly $50k to feed the survivors lettuce. 20 years ago when we started honestly realizing what was happening $50k would have went a good ways towards research to solve the true problem. Today, we add to it with pesticide and nitrogen rich lettuce being dumped in to the water!🤔 It is sad, now new jobs have been “created” and this will become the new norm as the folks responsible for feeding the manatee will not want to lose this funding. As much as I hate to say this… Use imminent domaine, pay the land owners fair market value, and send that damn water south where it needs to be! And before someone pipes in with the excess nutrient speech… The glades have been starved for nutrients and water for decades, I am sure they could use a good feeding right now. And while the waters historically were clean naturally filtered water most of the time, I am also willing to bet a steak dinner on the fact that during many of our torrential down pour rain events that we have those clean waters carried run off containing all sorts of nutrients straight to the river of grass. The problem is money, always has been. The engineers need funding, the scientists need funding, the state and federal divisions need funding and unfortunately fixing the problem ends the endless funneling of funds to all these agencies both public and private! Even the non profits will lose a substantial amount of funds if and when the water flows south again. Historical facts and I know a thing or three about how all this money gets spent, 90% WASTE from our government agencies.


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## Austin Todd 7 (Dec 7, 2021)

Steve_Mevers said:


> You have to go back a little farther in history but your right, it is totally a man made problem. The manatees are only a symptom of a bigger illness. Most people do not know that the Saint Lucie River and the Caloosahatchee river were not even connected to Lake O until the Corp came in and dredged it out (actually the Calusa Indians dug a canoe ditch for commerce to Lake O). The water used to flow south from Lake O to the Everglades. Just one of many man made errors in an attempt to drain the swamps of Florida, like straightening the Kissimmee river into a ditch. All the nutrients from central Florida flow south and end up in Lake O, and then they are diverted to the east and west coast. A lot of talk and some action has taken place recently to fix the problem, but it is just the tip of the iceberg of what it is going to take to restore the water quality. I applaud our Governor for starting the process, but I have my doubts if any political officer holder will have the political strength and public support to make the changes to affect real change. The changes it will take will be very painful.


Hey Steve,

Sorry, I am not on here much and just now saw this. You are dead right about Florida water all being linked. Like you said, the wrongful spraying we are doing on the Kissimmee chain of Lakes like Toho, Cypress, and Kissimmee, all flows down the Kissimmee River into Lake O and then is unnaturally sent out the Calooshatchee and St. Lucie rivers and affecting those salt water fisheries. As well as affecting Florida Bay and surrounding fisheries because they are not getting their supply of fresh water like they always received until they started diverting the natural flow the last 30-50 years. 

This mass manatee death toll mentioned in the article though is actually kind of unique in that it is not really 100% linked to all those other issues. They are linked in a way, yes, but not 100%. This article is talking about the massive death tolls in the Mosquito Lagoon and upper Indian River Lagoon which are very very light on tides. Almost non-existent. It's kind of an isolated incident because you're not seeing a lot of water movement up in those areas that the Manatees are dying in. The harmful water that is being passed out the St. Lucie isn't really reaching the Mosquito Lagoon and Upper Indian River because it would have to travel up to Sebastian and take a very long time to make it's way that far North up the Indian River through an area that is not very tide oriented. 

They are dying because their food is almost completely gone and this ecosystem was not built to have this many manatees even with a completely healthy sea grass crop. The sea grass is dead because of algae blooms that choke the sea grass out. The algae blooms are caused by way too many nutrients in the water. The nutrients are mostly from, like you said earlier, nutrients in fertilizer as well as sewage or septic spills, and maybe a little bit of whatever they spray on weeds inland near the Lagoons. 

Like someone else said, this is not an easy fix. It's going to take YEARS. And yes, all these issues are linked. It's going to take some serious fighting to get them resolved. But that's what we do.


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