Red tide killed 98 manatees, boats 73

Florida biologists say almost 100 of the 380 manatee deaths recorded in 2003 were the result of red tide poisoning — the second highest number on record.

All of the carcasses testing positive for red tide came from Lee, Collier, Sarasota and Charlotte counties. Biologists believe the killer blooms hit Florida’s GulfCoast last March and April — the same two months in which they claimed the lives of 149 sea cows in 1996, according to a report in this morning’s Daytona Beach News-Journal.

On Friday, the newspaper says, the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released its final manatee death tally for 2003. The report cited 380 manatee deaths in Florida waters — 98 of which were attributed to red tide.

Just how the toxin kills the sea cows is not fully understood, Tom Pitchford, director of the state’s manatee pathology lab in St. Petersburg, told the newspaper.

Manatees both inhale and ingest the red tide toxin, which the newspaper says can remain in sea grasses long after a red tide bloom has passed. Essentially, the toxin paralyzes the mammal, causing it to drown.

The News-Journal reports 73 of the 380 manatee deaths in 2003 were the result of boat strikes.

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