
The race to raise $180,000 to support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FWC’s supplemental feeding trial starving manatees in the Indian River Lagoon is on. Luckily, thanks to a generous $25,000 donation from Florida Power & Light (FPL), through its charitable arm the NextEra Energy Foundation, we’re off to a great start.
The start of the supplemental feeding will depend on the weather and water temperature, but we’re preparing to have lettuce available from December 1st through the end of March. The feeding will occur at the FWC’s Temporary Field Response Station at FPL’s Cape Canaveral plant. Biologists anticipate the potential to double the amount from last year, which could mean more than 400,000 pounds.
That’s a hefty grocery bill. To aid in keeping costs down, we’ve sourced the lettuce from a local Florida farm. DUDA Farms has agreed to supply lettuce for the feeding at $0.45 per pound.
“Thanks to the generous commitment from DUDA Farms, we will be able to offer more support to manatees as they congregate at the supplemental feeding site this year,” said FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton of Florida Power & Light.
Click here to learn more about this year’s feeding and the local businesses we’ve partnered with to support it. If you’d like to join us, donate to our Marine Mammal Fund today.