It’s the beginning of Manatee Season! Manatee season is from April 1 – Nov 15. No, that is NOT when you can hunt manatees! It is when manatees are more likely to be out in the waters. They need warmer waters and by April, most of the water is warmed up enough for them to start spreading out. From our anchor spot, just south of Redfish Pass, we see them every day. We also see boaters flying through the same water, not caring about what they might be running over. Starting yesterday, April 1, the idle zone around our boat was extended a lot thanks to the Manatee Protection Zone established by Florida Fish and Wildlife. For more information about area zones, check out this FWC link. FWC Manatee Protection Zones
My mom helped me put this video together (since I’m still learning how to use the video software 
). We took some video of some manatees that were at the yacht marina where my dad works. I recognized one of the manatees by her scars. Last year, there was a mother and her baby that were hit by a boat in our area. They were rehabilitated at Miami Seaquarium and released in that same marina. So check out my video and let me know what you think. I know the water is pretty dirty but the manatee’s where having so much fun that they stirred up all the sediment! And if you’re a boater and live around manatee areas, please take the extra time to slow down. You just might save a manatee’s life!
Manatees ~by Dolphin Dani
~Dolphin Dani
We have noticed a lot more manatee here too in Central FL over the last few weeks. Like you said though, most of them carry scars from boats.
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