Manatee count reaches record numbers

Biologists with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission counted 4,840 manatees during their annual survey in January, by far a record for the once-endangered species. The high count is especially encouraging in view of the record number of manatee deaths resulting from cold weather last year - a total of 767 were recorded dead statewide.

Biologists are quick to point out that the live-count surveys are not precisely accurate because most are based on flyovers of manatee assembly points such as the warm water outflow from power plants. But it's clear that the relative abundance of Florida's favorite mammal has increased dramatically in recent years.

Researchers reported sightings about equally divided between the west coast and the east coast; 2,402 on the west, 2,438 on the east. A considerable portion of the manatees seen on the west coast were located right here in Tampa Bay, with hundreds around the TECO plant at Apollo Beach - a great spot to get a look at the animals right now thanks to the manatee park at the west end of Big Bend Road off U.S. 41, where walkways over the water allow a close-up view.

Manatee numbers were thought to have declined as low as 600 in the 1960s before increasingly stringent protections put in place by both state and federal regulations began the restoration. They were still being poached for meat into the 1950s in some remote areas of the state. More recently, numbers appear to have been climbing at about 10 percent per year, despite a temporary setback in the red tide of 2005 and 2006 when several hundred died from inhaling the toxic algae.

Collisions with boats have been a factor in manatee deaths, though the percentage has gone down somewhat in recent years thanks to widespread slow-speed zones, particularly in winter. The zones were seen as onerous to boaters, particularly when they were put in place on areas where manatees rarely travel, such as on the shallowest grass flats, but the prohibition on high-speed operation in those zones has provided an unexpected benefit - flats fishing often improves considerably where ever gasoline engine operation is limited.

Adult manatees eat up to 100 pounds of marine vegetation daily, and there's perhaps reason for concern that numbers of animals could someday exceed the carrying capacity of Florida's thin ring of sea grasses, but for the time being both sea cows and sea grasses seem to be thriving.

The First Annual Captain Mel Trout and Redfish Classic will be fished on inshore waters of Pinellas County on Feb. 19. The tournament, organized by friends of the "Voice of Tampa Bay,", Captain Mel Berman of WFLA, 970 AM radio, is a memorial to Berman, who passed away in February 2010.

The tournament is an artificials-only, photo-release event, in which legal-sized trout and reds are placed on a measuring board and photographed with a digital camera. Only the photos are "weighed in" to determine cash and prize winners.

Tournament organizer Neil Taylor says entry in the general division will be $35, with the kayak division $25. There's also a junior division (entry $10). The captain's meeting, which includes a free buffet, is at the Thirsty Marlin in Palm Harbor beginning at 5 p.m. on Feb. 18.

Anglers looking for both the permitted tournament species probably will do well to launch at the Fort DeSoto ramp; big trout can be found throughout the winter on the north side of nearby Indian Key, while even closer Tarpon Key often holds winter reds. A few warm days may put trout on the Pinellas Point flats, as well, where DOA shrimp and topwaters stir up the bite. The Weedon Island area is also a good bet for reds this month, and fish sometimes stack up under docks in Coffeepot Bayou and Riviera Bay.

Proceeds from the event will go to the Humane Society, one of Captain Mel's favorite charities. To register for the Classic, visit www.capmel.com.