Ecosphere Restoration Institute is spearheading an innovative partnership to harvest and deliver eelgrass to rehabilitation centers caring for famished manatees rescued from Florida waters where their natural food sources have disappeared.

Ecosphere was approached in late 2021 by Soldiers for Animals, a non-profit organization that engages military veterans in wildlife conservation programs worldwide. The group wanted to do something to help Florida’s starving manatees. They agreed to provide funding for 12 weeks to provide fresh eelgrass to the five manatee rehab centers throughout the state.  Although the funding was finite, our contractor: AquaTech Eco Consultants continued to harvest and deliver eelgrass through 2023.  In 2024, TECO now subsidizes this effort allowing AquaTech to continue to deliver eelgrass every two weeks! 

From December 2021 through August 2025, the effort distributed 10 tons of eelgrass – a natural and preferred food for manatees – to the following facilities housing malnourished manatees: Zoo Tampa, the Jacksonville Zoo, Sea World, Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park, and the South Florida Museum’s Parker Manatee Aquarium. 

Most of the rescued manatees came from the Indian River Lagoon, where free-falling seagrass losses continue to take a severe toll on Florida’s iconic marine mammal.  A record 1,100 manatees died in 2022 in Florida, with 30% of those in the Indian River Lagoon. Another 800 manatees died statewide in 2023, according to state wildlife biologists.

“It’s really a win-win because the grasses we’re taking are clogging up canals, just floating on the surface. The homeowners who live on the canals are happy to get rid of the grass, and the rehab centers are happy to get a natural food that manatees prefer over lettuce,” said Tom Ries, Ecosphere’s President.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the lead agency overseeing manatee protection, approved the eelgrass delivery project.
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If you would like to contribute to extend this program; donations are welcome.