Clearwater Marine Aquarium To Break Ground On Manatee Rescue Facility

CLEARWATER, FL — In an effort to save the lives of more sick and injured manatees at a time when the species is experiencing a record-breaking number of deaths, the nonprofit Clearwater Marine Aquarium will host a ground-breaking ceremony April 25, launching the construction of a manatee rehabilitation center to provide life-saving care for injured and sick manatees.

Dr. James “Buddy” Powell, chief zoological officer for the aquarium, said the rehabilitation center will allow the aquarium to care for a greater number of manatees in crisis in what the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has declared an "Unusual Mortality Event" on Florida's east coast.

Since 2021, at least 2,141 manatees have died, more than any time in the state's history, due to starvation as a result of dwindling seagrass beds, habitat loss, boat strike wounds, red tide and cold stress syndrome. So far in 2023, 241 manatees have died, according to the FWC.

Aquarium officials said the center will increase emergency care space and use cutting-edge technology including ozone treatment and medical habitats with false bottoms for the comfort of these gentle sea cows. The goal is to rehabilitate the manatees and release them back in the wild.

Funding for this project is made possible by through the state, the FWC, Duke Energy Foundation, John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program and a handful of private donors.

Powell noted that the work being undertaken by the new facility is an extension of the effort the aquarium has more for more than a decade to rescue, release and track wild manatees around the world.

In 2019, the aquarium launched Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute encompassing the staff and programs of the former Sea to Shore Alliance organization led by Powell in an effort to broaden the scope of the aquarium's conservation and research efforts.

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To date, the institute has tagged and monitored 67 manatees for the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership, a consortium of more than two dozen private and governmental agencies. Powell said the data gathered over the past 20 years is vital to ensuring the future health of rehabilitated manatees and the future survival of the species.

Currently, the aquarium offers staffing, vehicles and a rescue boat to aid the partnership's efforts.

Now listed as vulnerable to extinction, manatees are considered a flagship species that indicate whether the natural aquatic habitat is in balance and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem.