A recent Florida Times Union article reported that 11 of the 14 manatees killed in Duval County last year were caused by boat or propeller collision. What’s surprising about the manatee fatality report is that there were “signs that commercial shipping may be part of a problem traditionally attributed to small pleasure boats.”

The injuries show some propellers were at least two feet or larger in diameter, and some larger than that, said Quinton White, a Jacksonville University biologist and administrator interviewed for the FTU article. That might suggest tugboat propellers or some larger craft.

“We're very concerned, because [of] the number of deaths that have been caused by larger ships and the location," said White. A number of Duval County’s manatee carcasses were found near the mouth of the St. Johns River.

In Savannah, Georgia, four manatees were killed in September when struck by a vessel with a large propeller, said Clay George, a scientist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources interviewed for the FTU article. He said one of the animals, about 10 feet long, was split in two at the shoulders.

Groups like the Save the Manatee Club have repeatedly waged battles against small-boat fishing vessels and pleasure boats in the form of no wake zones and slow speed zones to prevent perceived manatee “threats.” But recent research shows that manatees may not even hear boats motoring along at slow speeds www.floridasportsman.com/casts/081226

Statewide in Florida, there were 337 deaths in 2008, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported. That’s lower than the last five year’s average.

To read the complete article, go to www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-0110/ships_blamed_for_manatee_deaths.