MAPR

Welcome to Florida Sea Grants MAPR!

MAPR, Florida Sea Grant’s Manatee Awareness and Protection Resource website, uses interactive maps and graphics to describe factors considered in the designation of manatee protection zones in Florida’s coastal waters. We invite you to begin exploring the site by moving your cursor over, and selecting, the various features depicted in the graphic below. Text will appear in this box and links to “more information” provide details. You can always return to this page by clicking the “HOME” link in the banner above. We welcome your comments on MAPR, which you can provide on the contacts page.

Legislation for Manatee Protection

The Florida Manatee is listed as endangered under the guidelines of the Endangered Species Act and is protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) are the principal federal and state agencies responsible for planning and implementing activities designed to protect the manatee. The FWC has proposed reclassifying the state status to “threatened” (formal change could occur as soon as September 2007) and the FWS has also indicated a change in the federal status is possible. Internationally, the Florida Manatee is listed as “threatened” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) on the “Red List” of threatened species (IUCN, 2007)

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Warm Water Aggregation Points

Manatees aggregate at natural and manmade warm water sites, such as natural springs, power plants and industrial discharges, and dredged canals and basins. Research indicates that manatees often return to the same warm water discharge site(s) year after year, and that calves may learn this routine from their mothers.

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Effects of Coastal Development

Population growth, residential and commercial development, and actions such as waterway dredge and fill projects and dock, marina, and boat ramp construction have altered Florida’s coastal environment and greatly increased human activities in near-shore waters where manatees are typically found.

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Manatee Protection Zones

The purpose of manatee protection zones, as authorized by the Manatee Sanctuary Act and set forth in 68C-22, FAC, “is to protect manatees from harmful collisions with motorboats and from harassment; to protect manatee habitat, such as seagrass beds, from destruction by boats or other human activity; and to provide limited safe havens where manatees can rest, feed, reproduce, give birth or nurse undisturbed by human activity.”

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Aquatic Vegetation

Manatees are herbivores that graze on aquatic vegetation. Their diet is broad and they feed on many species of salt and freshwater vegetation. While they prefer to feed on seagrass, their grazing habits vary according to the time of the year and the nutritional qualities of the available vegetation.

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Manatee Facts

Modern Florida manatees have lived in the state’s waters for about 12,000 years, while their ancestors were here for over one and a half million years. Manatees are a federally listed endangered species and are protected by the State of Florida. Human related impacts, including habitat destruction due to coastal development and lethal encounters with boats, are major threats to survival of Florida’s manatee population (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2001).

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Aquatic Habitat

Manatees generally prefer water depths between three to twelve feet (1 4 m), but may be in water as shallow as one foot. They are found in coastal and estuarine areas but will travel upstream to warm water or freshwater sources. They are found throughout Florida but occur in greater numbers in its southern regions (O'Shea, 1988; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2001; Reep & Bonde, 2006).

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Effects of Boating

An increasing number of boats use Florida waters inhabited by manatees. Inevitably, chance encounters occur. Usually they are benign and even enjoyable for boaters: seeing manatees in their natural environment heightens the satisfaction of a day on the water. Sometimes, however, accidents happen that may injure or even kill a manatee. Collision with boats is the most common human related cause of manatee mortality in Florida, accounting for approximately 24% of all deaths since 1976.

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Interactive Map Go Back

The MAPR GIS interactive map integrates geographic information and educational modules, in an interactive format, that present human use, regulatory, and environmental factors that help to guide manatee protection in Florida. Lee County, Florida is the selected study area.

Lee County contains one of the largest open water estuaries in Florida and represents one of the state’s most popular boating regions. Recreational boaters are attracted to this area by its many barrier islands and protected waters that provide excellent opportunities for small-craft fishing, nature viewing, and picnicking/socializing along barrier island beaches and exposed sand spits. An estimated 45,000 pleasure boats are currently registered in the county (Bureau of Economic and Business Research, 2006), which represents a 113% increase in vessel registrations over the past 20 years.

Lee County is also very important to manatees. Hundreds of manatees rely on county waterways during all or part of the year (Lee County Division of Natural Resources, 2004). The county has ranked first in Florida for watercraft related manatee mortality over the past five years.

Florida Sea Grant (FSG) and the FWC FWRI recently completed a recreational boating study for the Greater Charlotte Harbor region that can be used to characterize the preferences, activities, and seasonal use patterns of Lee County boater populations (Sidman et al., 2005). In addition, a series of aerial surveys, covering the same time period, were conducted to identify observed seasonal boating patterns. The two complementary sources of boating information provide a comprehensive evaluation of seasonal spatial boating patterns in Lee County. These data provide important spatial information on boating patterns that can be used to help identify the most appropriate locations for manatee protection zones.