Navy comes to aid of Florida manatees

Acoustic sensors designed to detect underwater land mines are being used to help protect endangered manatees

By Environmental News Network staff

A defense technology developed by the U.S. Navy to detect underwater land mines is coming to the aid of endangered manatees.

About 3,000 manatees remain in the United States. Last year the number of manatee deaths was the second highest in history.

While the majority of that mortality comes from disease, pollution and collisions with boats, Florida's underwater canal gates and locks have also been a significant cause of the species decline.

Between 1974 and 1999, 145 manatees were crushed to death along their migration routes which cross the canal system.

It's similar to getting slammed in an elevator door.

Because the gates close rapidly, the blubbery sea creatures have little time to react before the life is squeezed out of them.

Since manatees have slow reproduction rates, the loss of one manatee can have huge impact on the recovery of the entire species.

The locks at Port Canaveral, Florida

In the past, the only way to prevent manatee accidents at the canals was to spot them from above and manually hold the gates open until they had passed through. But that activity proved to be difficult in Florida's murky waters, and often the manatees were not rescued in time.

The Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute is trying to reverse this trend.

Funded by the Office of Naval Research, the Institute has affixed a system of acoustic sensors, originally developed for underwater mine detection, to the gates and locks at Port Canaveral. Designed to stay open if a manatee is near, the gates operate like garage doors. Sensing the presence of a manatee in a tenth of a second, the gates will not close until the sea animal passes.

During the first five weeks of operation, the system detected and saved seven manatees.

Nine Florida canals are in line to receive funding for the acoustic sensors.

Conservation groups are especially pleased with the technology because the sensors do not interrupt the manatees' normal migratory behavior.

"This is a non-contact system that is good for the manatees," said Larry Taylor, project leader for the Manatee Protection Systems at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.

Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved

Florida cracks down on speed boaters in manatee country
June 5, 2000
Florida cracks down on speed boaters in manatee country
June 5, 2000
Florida manatee numbers up, survey finds
March 17, 1999
Florida manatees share small gene pool
November 19, 1998
Manatees get sanctuary in Florida
October 26, 1998

Navy comes to aid of Florida manatees
January 29, 2001
Saving Florida's manatees
January 18, 2000
Manatees dying at record rate in Florida
May 15, 2000
10% of Florida's manatees threatened
May 4, 2000
Environmentalists sue to save endangered manatee
November 4, 2000
Florida manatees share small gene pool
November 29, 1998
Manatees bewilder and surprise scientists
August 27, 1998
Navy launches plans for electric armada
July 25, 2000

Office of Naval research
Manatee Haven

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.