Nearly 53% of dead manatees this year were found in one of the five counties the Iagoon runs through: Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin. The overwhelming majority has been in Brevard, where a record 312 manatees have died. Unprecedented manatee mortality due to starvation was documented on the Atlantic coast this past winter and spring, Florida s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute wrote as it announced the record Friday. Most deaths occurred during the colder months when manatees migrated to and through the Indian River Lagoon, where the majority of seagrass has died off.
As temperatures warmed and manatees on the Atlantic coast dispersed, boat strikes again became the leading cause of death for the sea cows in June, according to FWRI. So far this year, 63 manatees have been struck and killed by boats.