Latest news with #MarineMammalProtectionActof1972
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Seaside Aquarium says ‘share the shore' with young elephant seal resting on beach
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Local experts are cautioning beachgoers to 'share the shore' after a young elephant seal was found lounging on the Seaside beach Tuesday morning. According to the Seaside Aquarium, the seal is going through its annual 'molt,' where they shed their fur and outer layer of skin on land. As dramatic as this sounds, they aquarium assures it is a completely normal process and the animal is just resting. Friends of the Columbia Gorge fear the scenic area won't receive funding from Washington 'It does not need to be fed and do not pour water on this animal; it can get to the water on its own,' they added. During molting, elephant seals can stay in the same place for weeks at a time. As a result, the aquarium says to stay at least 100 yards away from the seal and keep dogs on a leash. Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort is no longer on the market The animal is also being monitored by volunteers with the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The northern elephant seal is the largest in the Northern Hemisphere, the Seaside Aquarium says. In particular, the adult males are known for their distinctive, inflatable noses they use to vocally threaten other males during winter breeding season. Additionally, they have one of the longest migrations of any mammal, with some having traveled over 13,000 miles roundtrip. Northern elephant seals are also a conservation success story. Once thought to be extinct because of commercial sealing in the 1800s, a small population survived in Mexico and began to increase in the early 1900s. Now, wildlife officials estimate that there are around 150,000 total elephant seals, around the size it was before hunting. The largest colonies of northern elephant seals are found off southern California in the Channel Islands. Further, the elephant seal and all marine mammals are currently protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Yahoo
Forget Theme Parks—Swimming with Manatees in Florida Is the Most Magical Experience (Here's How to Do It Responsibly)
Swimming with manatees in Crystal River, Florida was a dream come true! I'm sharing my experience swimming with them, and everything you need to know before you hop in the water with these gentle giants. It's hard to believe that there are species of marine animals that are calm and peaceful as they are cute, adorable, and cuddly. Manatees and their lives are always a constant source of fascination to many (myself included). These large and lumbering creatures have egg-shaped heads, round bodies, tiny eyes, wrinkled faces, a flat tail, and two forelimbs that will instantly capture your heart. Swimming alongside them makes for a unique and unforgettable experience of a lifetime! Manatees are herbivores that tend to gracefully glide through the water, feeding on the aquatic plants that surround them including sea grasses, algae, and mangrove leaves. Their fondness for grazing in shallow rivers and coastal areas made people dub them as "gentle sea cows" that eat almost 10% of their body weight in vegetation daily. They are one of the ocean's largest herbivores that can live up to 65 years old, measure up to 14 feet long, and weigh over 1,000 pounds. Swimming with manatees will not only leave you with a newfound appreciation for them, but it's also an incredible opportunity to learn about their role in the ecosystem. They prevent local vegetation from becoming overgrown, feed on water hyacinth and other invasive marine species, and fertilize sea grasses resulting in a balanced don't need a tour to swim with manatees, but I HIGHLY recommend it for your safety and the safety of the manatees. Our tour guide from Fun2Dive said there is nothing more dangerous to the manatees than a tourist with a rental... which was said as a rental boat nearly ran over a manatee and its baby. Please, please, just book a tour with a professional if you are not familiar with the area. These ambling creatures are protected by state and federal laws under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978. Manatees are listed under the Threatened category—being more at risk than you realize. When done responsibly and with respect to their natural habitat, swimming with these gentle creatures can be a safe and incredible experience. Manatees tend to approach swimmers out of curiosity, so it's important to follow the guidelines set by the state, conservation groups, and tour operators to ensure their welfare. Swimmers must keep a respectful distance and avoid touching or harassing the manatees. Manatees have good visual acuity in medium or long distances but are short-sighted at a close range, and while this makes for a close and adorable interaction when you're swimming alongside them, the first contact must be initiated by the manatee. If you're respectful of the manatees, they will sense this and want to be near you. I honestly was swimming away from the manatees at first, as they kept bumping into me, and I thought I was breaking the law! My guide laughed and explained it was fine to hold still and let the manatees check me out, and touch me. (I get into the dos and don'ts of swimming with manatees at the end of the article.) Manatees are also NOT dangerous. They are incredibly docile creatures that pose no threat to humans. You'd think that their blubbery size and shape would protect them from winter months, but manatees aren't built for the cold. Unlike other mammals like dolphins, manatees don't have blubber to protect them from the harshness of winter and hypothermia. They have low metabolic rates and get easily stressed when the environment drops below 68 degrees, so they seek warmer havens where they can happily swim, relax, and manatee around. The manatees' favorite home to migrate to when it gets cold is Florida, particularly Crystal River (Kings Bay) on the west coast. They are also spotted in the warm spring-fed waters of Citrus County and Three Sisters Springs, as well as in some parts of Massachusetts, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgia. However, Crystal River, Florida is the only place on the continent where it's legally permitted to swim with manatees in their natural habitat. There's plenty of opportunity to get up close and personal with these adorable, herbivorous creatures—all at a safe and regulated distance, of course. While you can spot manatees all year round in Crystal River, their population tends to swell starting November through April making it the best time of the year to go on swimming and on snorkeling tours. Manatees are at their most active and playful during early mornings, and it's recommended to visit the springs during weekdays, as weekends tend to get a little crowded. Note: We snorkeled with manatees in Crystal River, Florida in early April. We also went later in the afternoon on a weekday and did see several playful manatees. There are Semi-Private Manatee Swim tours available year-round with Fun2Dive if you want a more intimate setting. (This is the tour my family and I did, as a private tour, and highly recommend it.) This kind of group snorkel tour only accommodates six guests per boat, so you're assured of an up-close and unhurried experience with these gentle giants. Tour operators and nature guides offer a variety of water-based activities for going on manatee adventures including snorkeling, swimming, paddleboarding, diving, and kayaking. Given that manatees are sensitive to the cold, you can expect the water to be between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the ideal and comfortable temperature range for the manatees to enjoy. While the air temperature is cold for some people, wetsuits and other anti-chill gear are provided by tour operators to keep swimmers warm during their encounters with the manatees. (Fun2Dive did give us wetsuits, and also gave us noodles and snorkel gear to use while we swam!) Another way to protect yourself from cold, if you're hypersensitive, is to wear a neoprene hood, gloves, and booties for extra insulation and prevent heat loss. Staying hydrated and eating a nourishing hot meal can boost your energy while drinking a warm beverage like tea and hot chocolate before swimming also helps in keeping your body warm from the inside out. Note: Personally, we were grateful for the wetsuits, and found that was plenty to keep us warm while we swam with the manatees. For the health and safety of the manatees, strict rules and regulations are put in place for visitors to follow. For instance, if the manatee comes up to you, you can gently touch the manatee with one hand, but you must not approach one that's resting or feeding. (Personally, I would say to avoid touching the manatees, for their health and safety.) It's also strictly forbidden to chase, kick, splash, or poke a manatee, and even touch one using two hands. Here are the dos and don'ts when it comes to meeting manatees: Avoid touching. Keeping your hands to yourself as much as possible is generally the main rule. This is to avoid the manatees being accustomed to people which can alter their behavior making them more susceptible to harm. Given that manatees are naturally curious, they may want to engage with you but only do so when they initiate first contact. You may only touch with one open hand and let the interaction flow naturally. The less you touch these docile sea cows, the longer they will likely want to swim with you. Passive observation. It's tempting to hug the cuteness out of them, but leave everything up to the manatees. Remember that you're on their turf, and it's a privilege to be with them in the wild. Passive observation means waiting patiently for a manatee to approach you. Never disturb, chase, follow, or wake a sleeping manatee. Should a manatee avoid you, don't chase for a closer view. Go in silently. When on a manatee swim tour, go in the waters silently as loud splashing, blowing bubbles, or cannonballing can scare them away. Slowly swim towards the area and make yourself known with a dive flag, try to be mellow in your movements to avoid disrupting resting manatees. They may surface totally unaware of your presence, get startled, and may be placed in harm's way. Manatees first. No matter how slow-moving they are, manatees will always have the right of way. They were there first and remember that you're in their natural habitat. Give them more space to move around and don't try to chase, single out, corner, or isolate one manatee from its group, especially a calf. Dress for protection. Tour operators usually provide wetsuits, snorkel masks, and a noodle. You can also wear your own wetsuit and bring your own snorkel gear. The wetsuit and noodle will keep you afloat on the surface and prevent you from bottoming out to where a group of manatees may be resting. Don't kick your legs. Tour operators will instruct you to not kick your legs while you swim by the manatees - only use your arms. This is to prevent anyone from accidentally kicking a manatee. This also means you are not allowed to wear snorkel fins. Avoid manatee lawns. Being the largest herbivores in the ocean, there are designated sanctuaries or lawns that are maintained where manatees can graze freely. These areas are off-limits to visitors—they are usually roped off and are not accessible to the public. You will be fined should you cross the barrier, so as a sign of respect to the manatees and their habitat, stay out of designated sanctuaries. Pay attention. Learn to read manatee footprints. There are usually large circles forming on the surface of the water when there's a close manatee. In this case, slow down or avoid when boating near the area. Boats are one of the biggest threats to manatees accounting for many deaths due to collisions. You wouldn't want to be part of this now, would you? (Again, I HIGHLY recommend booking a tour with a professional, if you are not familiar with the area.) Aside from boat collisions, threats to manatees also include climate change, loss of habitat, poisonous algae bloom, pollution, and developing wetlands for human consumption. The dos and don'ts mentioned above are just the bare minimum when it comes to ensuring that the manatee population survives and thrives. Responsible manatee interaction also involves following the rules and guidelines set by the state, as anyone convicted of violating the law can be fined a hefty $500 sum or can be imprisoned for up to 60 days. Meanwhile, a federal-level conviction is punishable by up to a $50,000 fine and one-year imprisonment. Again, for our tour, we booked with Fun2Dive, as they had amazing reviews. We did their private tour, but even their Classic Manatee Swim only allowed 12 people on a boat at a time. If you see a tour that offers more than that, I would stay clear. That is WAY too many people in the water at a time swimming around a manatee. Note: You will want to bring swimwear to change into, as well as a towel. And don't forget the sunscreen! That's all you will need to bring along for the tour. The whole tour with Fun2Dive, was great, from start to finish. There was onsite parking, as well as bathrooms for us to change. We had driven from Ruskin, Florida, and didn't want to be wearing a wet bathing suit the whole drive back! Fun2Dive also has a cute little gift store you can shop at before or after your tour. MANATEE MANNERS VIDEO - We had a safety briefing, and went over our "manatee manners" before we got started. GIVEN WETSUITS AND TIME TO CHANGE - Everyone got their correct wetsuit size and got changed. TRANSFERRED TO THE BOAT - Fun2Dive drove us to their boat, which was only a couple minutes drive from the shop. BOATED FOR 15-20 MINS - to get to where the manatees were. OVER AN HOUR OF SNORKELING - We snorkeled with the manatees, as well as at a nice snorkel spot with a variety of fish. We could have gone even a little longer, but we were getting a bit tired. TRANSFERRED BACK TO THE SHOP - We were able to change and dry off, and purchase our photo package. Fun2Dive also gave us some warm beverages to help us stay warm after snorkeling. We had a great time with Fun2Dive! Our guide also made a fantastic food suggestion for us in Crystal River! Head to Cajun Jimmy's Seafood Seller and Cafe for AMAZING seafood and prices (pictured below). Note: While we did bring and use our own GoPro, I also recommend purchasing the Fun2Dive photo package. Their photos and videos were WAY better than the ones we took, and they gave us over 100 photos, as well as videos, in the package. To me, this was well worth it. We also only had to purchase one photo package to share for our whole family. I highly recommend this experience, especially if you go with a professional tour operator like Fun2Dive. (They aren't sponsoring me or anything, I just really enjoyed the tour we booked with them!) I could not get over how curious and sweet the manatees were, and the love the guides had for the manatees. From getting a "manatee kiss" to watching a baby and its mother swim around us, it's an experience my family and I won't forget. Read next: 20+ Fun Things to Do in Ruskin, Florida + Day Trips from Ruskin Read next: 10 Things to Know Before Swimming with Horses in Florida Read next: 20+ Amazing Things to Do in Florida Other Than Disney
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Manatee with watercraft wound rescued near Estero Bay
ESTERO BAY, Fla. (WFLA)— A manatee was rescued in Estero Bay last week by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FWC said staff rescued the manatee that had a recent watercraft wound. Manatees are typically in rivers, bays, canals, estuaries, and coastal areas where there is warm water and extensive beds of seagrass. 5 teenagers suspected in dog park attack to appear in court Wednesday Man arrested for murder in 2023 overdose death: HCSO FWC said helping protect manatees can be done by: Practice smart boating by avoiding navigation through shallow grass beds Avoid contributing to the problem of changing water chemistry through run-off. Use grating rather than planks when building or repairing a dock, grates allow sunlight to penetrate the grasses living below. The manatee rescued has been taken to ZooTampa for treatment. According to FWC, Manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. It is illegal to feed, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy, or molest manatees. To report an injured, dead, harassed, or orphaned manatee call the Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Keeping the Balance: Tlingit hunter fights for shellfish and tradition
This story was originally published by National Fisherman magazine. Paul Molyneaux©National Fisherman The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 undoubtedly saved some species from extinction. Others, including sea otters, were reintroduced to Southeast Alaska in the 1960s and have rebounded to the point that they are depleting wild stocks of shellfish that local communities depend on. 'This threat the sea otters pose extends far beyond accessing food,' says Heather Douville, a sea otter hunter from the Tlingit Tribe on Prince of Wales Island, in Alaska. 'It jeopardizes our ability to practice our culture, to pass down vital knowledge to future generations, and ultimately, it undermines our way of life. The health of our ecosystems and our traditions are intertwined.' Together with her father, Michael, who drives the skiff, Douville upholds the millennia-old cultural practice of hunting sea otters. To offset the costs of hunting and processing, she started a small business, Coastal Fur and Leather, to convert the pelts to sellable items, because the MMPA prohibits the sale of whole pelts. Douville has harvested hundreds of sea otters over the past two years. 'Lately, we've had commercial divers thanking us when they see us with the sea otters we've harvested on the dock,' she says. 'I don't think it's sustainable for me to hunt at this rate long-term as it's very costly, and because of that, there's little incentive for others to pursue hunting.' With the Southeast Alaska sea otter population now at around 25,000, Douville hunts, in part, to reduce the otter population and restore local stocks of clams, geoduck, sea urchin, mussels, sea cucumber, abalone, scallops, crab, and octopus. 'There are approximately 35 hunters in the Southeast Alaska region,' she said. 'I don't see any change in the shellfish population since I've started hunting, and I'm unsure if our current hunting levels will have an impact. For the shellfish population to rebound, we need to achieve a balance, which includes getting more hunters out there.' Besides embracing ancient Tlingit tradition, Douville is collecting traditional knowledge and data. 'I thought I might as well,' she said. 'I've found they really like clams.' She adds that the largest sea otter she has harvested weighed 99 pounds and had about 20 pounds of geoducks in its stomach. Douville has cataloged the stomach contents, parasites, dental health, and other aspects of the physiology of numerous sea otters and has reams of data. "This extends far beyond just shellfish and fur,' says Douville, pointing out that it is about maintaining a relationship more than 10,000 years old. 'Tlingit means People of the Tides,' she said. 'We have always hunted sea otters to keep them out of the intertidal zone and protect the resources we depend on. It's about keeping the balance.' Paul Molyneaux is the boats and gear editor for National Fisherman magazine.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists make unexpected discovery about Florida's beloved manatees: 'The actual bones ... are extremely uncommon'
While Florida's manatees are facing an array of threats, including boat strikes and warming waters, research suggests they are relatively new neighbors in the state. Click Orlando reported on a study that found that these marine mammals may not have arrived in great numbers in Florida waters until the late 1800s. The news site explained that the researchers discovered a lack of archaeological or historical evidence that this species lived in this area early on. The team looked at documented manatee sightings from Native Americans and European colonists, as well as fossils and bones from pre-colonial and colonial times. However, observations were sporadically reported and possibly inaccurate since European explorers had little experience commingling with the species. "The actual bones of manatees are extremely uncommon on archaeological sites," co-author Thomas J. Pluckhahn, professor of anthropology at the University of South Florida, told the news website. "We do have one or two examples dating back as far as 5,000 years ago, but it seems likely that they were pretty uncommon in Florida." The scientists say cooler global temperatures starting around 1200 and lasting into the 1800s may have forced Florida manatees to stay in warmer Caribbean waters. Then, an industrial boom in the 1920s kept them there, as newly established electricity-generating power stations on the coast released warm, fresh water into natural waterways — generations of manatees have relied on this heated water to survive since, the publication asserted. Meanwhile, invasive plants like hydrilla and water hyacinth have helped manatees survive in the region by providing sustenance. Though they may be new to the area, manatees are beloved to Floridians, having become the state's official marine mammal in 1975. Plus, these animals, also known as "sea cows," fill an important ecological niche in Florida waters, according to Defenders of Wildlife. For instance, the species' eating habits can help prevent the overgrowth of vegetation and control the spread of invasive plants, improving ecosystem health. Manatees can also help fertilize sea grasses and other aquatic vegetation. Do you think America does a good job of protecting its natural beauty? Definitely Only in some areas No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. However, Florida manatees are in the midst of what officials are calling an "unusual mortality event," marked by a high number of manatee deaths. "Environmental conditions in portions of the Indian River Lagoon remain a concern," FWC said on its website. "Researchers attributed this UME to starvation due to the lack of seagrasses in the Indian River Lagoon. In recent years, poor water quality in the Lagoon led to harmful algal blooms and widespread seagrass loss." Manatees are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978, making it illegal to "feed, harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy, or molest," these animals, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The state has also established regulatory speed zones for watercraft located in areas where manatees live or frequent. In addition, the state manages a manatee conservation program. For instance, FWC focused on improving water quality and aquatic vegetation in the Indian River Lagoon, which experts think can reverse the recent years of loss. Meanwhile, a number of non-profit groups like the National Wildlife Federation support conservation efforts such as habitat protection. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
