Fishing line, hooks, and other trash that are discarded can become intertwined in vegetation where manatees feed.
Fishing line that was so severely wrapped around Una’s flipper,
it cut through bone and skin.
n March 2022, a young manatee named Tama was found unresponsive in
shallow water at Blue Spring State Park. She died from monofilament fishing
line lesions in the small intestine. “She was otherwise in great condition,”
reported staff from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Una and her dependent calf were rescued in February 2020 at Blue Spring
State Park because Una’s flippers were severely entangled in monofilament
fishing line. This was her second rescue for severe flipper entanglement,
which can be a significant problem because calves nurse from mammary glands
located behind the mother’s flippers.
Schwinn somehow became completely encircled in a bicycle tire in 2019.
Partners from the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP)
attempted several rescues but were unsuccessful. In 2020, he appeared tire
free, but he now bears deep scars from the entanglement injury.
Schwinn became entangled in a bike tire. He got free but now bears a
deep scar.
Mr. Baby was just a young manatee when he was released at Blue Spring
State Park in December 2017. He did very well and was observed feeding,
socializing, and traveling. But in less than a year, he was reported in Lake
Monroe showing signs of distress and died two months later. A necropsy found
he had consumed various types of man-made debris.
Lucille and Margarito are two manatees that had to be rescued after fishing
line became wrapped around and embedded in their flippers. The line was
removed, but Lucille eventually lost the lower half of the flipper, and
Margarito lost his entire left flipper.
Debris in our waterways, such as discarded fishing line and hooks, plastic
six-pack holders, and plastic bags, is dangerous to manatees and other
wildlife.
A manatee with a fish hook embedded in its mouth.
As herbivores, manatees graze on a large variety of aquatic vegetation.
When they are eating, they use their upper lip and flippers to grasp the
vegetation. Fishing line, hooks, and other trash that are discarded can
become intertwined in vegetation where manatees feed. Fishing line can get
tangled around their flippers, or they may accidentally swallow the line or
other trash. Hooks can become embedded in a manatee’s lips, mouth, throat,
stomach, or intestine, leading to fatal infections. Line entanglement can
also lead to infection. When the entanglement injury is severe, the flipper
may self-amputate, or a manatee may need to be rescued and transported to a
critical care facility where its infected flipper can be surgically removed.
Crab traps can be another source of problems for manatees. Manatees become
entangled in the rope that connects the traps to floating buoys at the
water’s surface. Entanglement in rope alone may cause serious injury, but
entanglements involving ropes still attached to crab traps can be
particularly harmful because the weight of the trap causes more severe
entanglement wounds. Manatees often drag these traps for miles, and their
wounds may become infected and lead to flipper amputation or death if they
are not sighted and rescued promptly.
Entanglements are one cause of manatee injury and death that we can
prevent. By boating or fishing responsibly, we can make the aquatic
environment safer for manatees and other wildlife.
Here are some tips to help protect manatees and other wildlife: