These 'Snowbirds' Love The Warm Water

Each winter, they migrate to South Florida to escape the cold but you won't find these tourists in Speedos on Hollywood Beach. Many endangered West Indian manatees, once mistaken as mermaids by sailors, migrate to Port Everglades in the months surrounding November through March to take advantage of the warm water in the port-based Florida Power & Light (FPL) discharge canal.


Protecting the Port's Gentle Giants

The water in FPL's discharge canal is often 10-15 degrees warmer than the Intracoastal Waterway, becoming a cozy little sanctuary for the manatees that migrate from points north . Port Everglades established a safe marine habitat for these migrating manatees and has supported manatee protection legislation, including the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 and the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 as amended. Florida further protected the manatee in 1978 with the Manatee Sanctuary Act, which names the entire state a refuge and sanctuary for manatees and sets up boat speed regulations in manatee-sensitive areas. Many sites throughout the state are designated as protection zones, including Port Everglades.

Port Everglades has established several programs to address manatee awareness and protection. For example, the Port was instrumental in removing the commercial exemption from the Manatee Sanctuary Act, which resulted in equal enforcement of speed regulations for all boats (commercial and recreational) within manatee protection areas. The Port Tariff states: “No vessel shall proceed at a speed which will endanger other vessels, docks, structures, or the environment.  Any official signs indicating limited speeds through portions of the waterways shall be strictly obeyed and will be enforced."  The State of Florida, under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, has established a manatee protection idle-speed zone in the Intracoastal Waterway.  This zone is enforced by local, state and federal law enforcement.  The idle-speed zone is effective between November 15 and March 31, and a slow-speed zone applies in this area as well as all other waters of Port Everglades for the remainder of the year.  The U.S. Coast Guard also has a Security Zone in the area of the Port that limits vessel movement and speed.  These zones are actively enforced and result in slower speeds in the Port area, further protecting the manatee population.

The Port has also:

• Increased the number of manatee warning signs on the Intracoastal Waterway and Dania Cutoff Canal advising boaters of idle and slow speed zones.
• Designated an area in the FPL Discharge Canal as a manatee nursery area (restricting the area's use by boaters and people).
• Funded studies providing information regarding manatee migrations and feeding habitats within sanctuary areas.
• Established manatee protection programs that are utilized with all dredging and blasting projects. No manatees have ever been injured or killed as a result of the Port's dredging and blasting activities. 
•  Established procedures for the Duty Harbormasters and Line Handlers on site during vessel dockings and sailings to observe the berth and waterway areas for manatees.  The procedures include reporting manatee sightings to the pilots and tug operators so they can take necessary action to protect the animals, which may a delay in a vessel’s docking or sailing schedule.
• Deepened an area on the southern portion of the FPL Discharge Canal (Manatee Lagoon) to allow manatees to utilize the area at all stages of the tide.  People and boats are restricted from entering this lagoon.
• Provides fendering (similar to bumpers) on all of the Port’s 26,000 linear feet of bulkheads to prevent animals from getting injured between the bulkhead and vessels. Fenders are four feet off the face of the bulkhead and spaced every 50 feet.
• Installs manatee exclusion devices to all new stormwater outfalls to prevent animals from being trapped in the outfall pipes. 
• Donated a satellite telemetry tagging device to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to track manatees within the Port Everglades area and the State.
• Sends notices each upcoming manatee season to remind the pilots and tug boat companies that they should allow additional time to dock and sail vessels in the event a manatee(s) is sighted and extra time is required for evasive action. 
• Provides access to the scientific community to conduct research relating to these mammals. These studies include:
  o Catalog scar patterns of animals.
  o Observe feeding habits.
  o Observe mating activity.

Safe Dredging – The Port’s Manatee Protection Plan

The Port periodically must maintain the waters of the harbor to provide for the safe transiting of vessels that use the Port’s facilities.  These work activities are typically scheduled outside of the times manatees migrate through the Port.  However, whenever maintenance and construction activities are required during the manatee season, the Port utilizes its Manatee Protection Plan so as not to injure these slow-moving animals.   The guidelines in this comprehensive manatee protection program have been adopted by ports statewide. The Plan includes:

• Port staff conducts extensive manatee training for contractors to educate them about the habits, habitats, and natural history of the animals, and what to look for during harbor maintenance.
• Special teams of trained marine observers keep daily logs of manatee sightings and monitor the manatees to ensure their well-being during work projects.
• Observers are placed in boats surrounding the project area to spot manatees entering the work area.
•  Curtail activities when manatees enter the work area.

The Port Everglades Department is working with the marine industry and federal, state and  county governments as well as the environmental community to develop a working marina citing plan that both addresses new facilities and the protection of the manatee.

Bringing Up Baby, The Manatee Way

Who said being a manatee was easy? For a bull, perhaps, life consists of lying around eating sea grass, exploring, traversing the shores, and encountering the occasional cow in estrus. But who do you think taught him what to eat and where to find it? Who taught him the travel routes he takes every year and where to find refuge from the cold? That's right, his mother.



Reproduction and the Single Manatee

One day a manatee cow is just swimming along and out of nowhere, she becomes the center of an estrous herd. Tourists ogle as she desperately twists and turns, attempting to flee the bulls, numbering anywhere from five to 20 at a time. Why is this happening? The cow just might be reviewing these facts in her head:

• Her first calf is at least 2 years old and although he still hangs around, he was weaned at one and she's already taught him everything she knows.
• Manatee cows give birth approximately every three years and the gestation period is about 13 months.
• It's spring, and although manatees breed year round, it usually occurs between the spring and fall.
• She can't shake these guys, who completely ignore her most days, and several of them are starting to look very appealing.

Yes, it must be estrus. She decides to pace herself, as this could last up to three weeks. In this time, she will probably mate with several bulls, forming no permanent bonds.

Care of a Calf

After a year-long pregnancy, the cow gives birth to her offspring underwater.  As a West Indian manatee, the calf will:

• Be born either head or tail first.
• Measure about four feet at birth and weigh 60 to 70 pounds.
• Be able to swim to the surface unassisted.
• Vocalize to its mother immediately. These vocalizations are crucial to the mother-calf relationship and a cow will respond to her calf's squeals from greater than 200 feet away.
• Begin nursing at its mother's teats, which are located under each flipper, a few hours after birth. Nursing sessions take place under water.
• Nibble plants a few weeks after birth.

The primary relationship in the manatee social structure is the mother-calf bond. Everything a manatee knows about what to eat, where to eat, where to rest, what routes to travel and where to seek warm-water refuge, he learns from his mother.

Important Facts About Manatees

Did you know that manatees:

• Are mammals found primarily in warm, shallow rivers, canals, coastal areas in Florida during the winter and Louisiana, Virginia and the Carolinas during the summer?
• Can grow to 13 ft. and weigh more than 3,000 lbs.? The average adult manatee is 10 feet long and weighs 1,000 lbs.
• Have fine-tuned senses? They can differentiate colors; however their depth perception may be limited. They hear very well and communicate audibly through a variety of squeaks and squeals.
• Spend all day in the water and surface to breathe every few minutes?
• Are completely herbivorous, eating 10-15 percent of their body weight in aquatic plants daily?
• Grab aquatic plants and draw them into their mouths with independently moving lip pads on each side of its mouth?
• Are not sexually mature until age five to nine for a female and six to nine for a male? One calf is born about every two to three years and the manatee gestation period is about 13 months.
• Can't turn their heads to the side? Unlike most mammals with seven cervical vertebrae, manatees have just six and must turn their whole bodies around to look behind them.
• Have bones in their flippers similar to a human hand with three or four nails at the end of each flipper?
• Have no "biting" teeth, are completely harmless and have no defense mechanisms?
• Are very sensitive to the cold and natural environment and may die naturally from sudden drops in water temperature and red tide? Manatees are also susceptible to human-related causes of death including pollution, loss of habitat, poaching, getting tangled in fishing and trapping lines and boating accidents.