TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) is assisting the state in Florida-wide conservation efforts to help provide protection and care to the threatened West Indian Manatee.

According to a preliminary report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), as of Feb. 11, a total of 261 manatees have died in Florida.

An unusual mortality event (UME) has been declared for manatees on the east coast of the state, as many continue to starve due to lack of sea grass, particularly in Brevard County. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s manatee response team has been on hand for rescues and releases of manatees not just on the Gulf coast, but across the state.

Jenn Galbraith is the manatee program research coordinator for the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute. She deals with monitoring orphaned calves who didn’t have time with their mothers. The calves are GPS-tagged and are monitored for a period to time to “ensure their transition to the wild is successful,” Galbraith said.

She said multiple employees throughout the aquarium are heavily involved in the ongoing unusual mortality event on Florida’s east coast.

While the aquarium assists with rescues and releases across the state, Galbraith said they are keeping a close eye on the Gulf coast, because sea grass loss could happen on the Tampa Bay side of the state.

“However, we know with everything in life, everything is connected. So we’re seeing what we’re seeing there does play a part in what could happen here,” she said. “So it’s always important to pay attention and not just think of things as isolated events.”

Galbraith said it’s due to water quality, which in the early 1970s and 80s, affected seagrass loss in Tampa Bay.

“Water quality is important everywhere and we saw it this summer with red tide,” she said. “We know that extra nutrients going in the water is creating water quality issues in Tampa Bay.”

CMA is continuing to work to become a secondary care facility for manatees.

According to Abby Stone, manager of CMA’s rescue programs, there is currently no opening date for the aquarium’s manatee rehabilitation facility. Right now, their focus is fundraising, with about $95,000 received through a federal grant with an estimated $10 million being needed to renovate the former “Winter Zone” pool at the facility.

“In the interim, we are looking at the possibility to construct some smaller pools… both here on property to support manatee rehab, as well as at an off-site facility,” Stone said.

The aquarium is not sure on the number of manatees they’ll be able to take into their new facility just yet, but the Clearwater Marine Aquarium is looking to construct additional pools to support potentially two to three manatees in the short time on site, and up to six offsite.

“Manatees are really impacted across the state and we continue to support FWC, as well as the Manatee Rescue and Rehabilitation partnership by making our resources, such as equipment and vehicles, vessels as well as personnel available to support these rescue responses on the east coast in regard to the ongoing UME,” Stone said.

There is currently no estimated opening date for the manatee care center at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, but plans for construction and design are in the works weekly.

If you see a sick, injured or dead manatee, report the incident to FWC by calling 888-404-FWCC or *FWC or #FWC on a cellphone.