FWC has released preliminary 2019 manatee mortality numbers and of the 606 total deaths in the state that year, 144 of them were in Lee County. 27 of the 144 in Lee County were killed by watercraft, 2 in Fort Myers Beach.
Since 2014, when there were 69, the number of manatees killed in Florida by watercraft has gone up every year:
2015: 86
2016: 106
2017: 111
2018: 124
2019: 136
In Lee County, the biggest months for watercraft manatee deaths were January (5), May (5), April (4), and February and March with 3 each.
Brevard County recorded the second highest number of deaths in 2019 with 88.
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