Manatees congregate in warm waters near power plants as US winter storms graze Florida

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — A polar vortex that has hit much of the U.S. with ice and snow has dealt a glancing blow to Florida, dropping temperatures on the coast and hurting the Sunshine State’s manatee population, which is still recovering from a mass famine several years ago. went in search of warmer waters.

In addition to the inland natural springs, a popular destination for the docile aquatic mammals is the warm water outflow from a dozen Florida power plants. Manatees have been attracted to the warm water discharge for decades, following a watery travel route that mother manatees have taught to manatees. Public viewing areas are located near power plants Riviera Beach, Fort Myers And Apollo Beach.

Dozens of manatees, which can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds, have gathered near Florida Power over the past week. & Light Company’s Riviera Beach factory, where the company made the Manatee Lagoon attraction in 2016. The two-story, 16,000-square-foot complex is free and open to the public. They organize a family friendly one ManateeParty on February 1.

“Manatees are such a special species that we have in our waters here in Florida because they are a sentinel species, which means they are an indicator of any water problems that we have or any environmental problems that we have,” said Lagoon education manager Rachel Shanker. “They are pretty much the first animals to start responding to changes in the environment. And because they are so charismatic, people really notice that.”

The facility is open year-round, but the best chance to see the animals is from November 15 to March 31, when water temperatures in Florida can drop below 68 degrees, which is deadly for manatees. While boat strikes are the greatest manmade threat to manatees, cold stress is the most common natural threat.

“So during the power generation process, that power plant produces clean, warm water, and that warm water attracts the manatees when it gets cold,” Shanker said.

Ocean water is drawn in from the bay and used to cool the plant, but no chemicals or other substances are added to the water, Shanker said. The warm water discharged from the plant is the same ocean water, only warmer and completely safe for wildlife.

The number of manatees near the power plant can fluctuate, but Shanker said Friday that the most they have counted this year is about 85.

“The manatees come here to Manatee Lagoon for that warm water, but we don’t have a large population of seagrass here on our property,” Shanker said. “And so they come here to Manatee Lagoon to warm up, and when they start to get hungry, they’ll travel out to find those seagrass beds, and they’ll start eating until they’re full, and they’re cold, and they come back to our warm water to get warm.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 565 manatee deaths were recorded in 2024, similar to 555 deaths the year before. Those numbers are down significantly from 2021, when officials recorded the numbers 1,100 manatee deathsusually caused by famine. Pollution from farms, cities and other sources has decimated the seagrass on which animals depend.

“The center of these problems has been in the Indian River Lagoon, where they’ve had problems over the years with all these algae blooms,” said FWC manatee veterinarian Martine de Wit. “And that affected the clarity and quality of the water, and the seagrass had died in that area.”

Indian River Lagoon is located along the Atlantic coast in central Florida. The state’s waters are home to more than 8,000 manatees, at least a third of which live or migrate through the Indian River Lagoon.

State wildlife officials tried to limit the number of victims by temporarily feeding lettuce to manatees. After two particularly deadly winters, the area’s seagrass began to recover and manatee deaths have dropped.

“Seagrass is resilient and came back on its own, and manatees found it,” De Wit said.

Although the total number of deaths has decreased over the past two years, data shows a spike in the number of dead calves over the past year. The seagrass famine has left many manatees so malnourished that they were physically unable to reproduce for years, De Wit said. When food returned, the previously starved animals all began to reproduce at the same time.

“If you have higher pregnancy rates and more manatees are born, there is always a percentage that doesn’t make it,” De Wit said. “I think this was just a measure of the reproduction coming back after all the lean years since 2020.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday rejected efforts by several Florida environmental groups to have the manatees reinstated as an endangered species. The manatee was downgraded from endangered to threatened in 2017 and remains in that classification.

Florida’s manatee population is recovering, but officials and residents must remain vigilant in protecting the endangered species, De Wit said.

“We are always looking to the future and there are significant threats to manatees statewide,” De Wit said. “Things are looking better now, but you can’t just sit back and watch it unfold because we know management and conservation efforts are needed to protect them.”