New FWC decals help protect manatees, sea turtles
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has released its 2024-25 manatee and sea turtle decals. These vibrantly illustrated decals can be placed on watercraft and vehicle bumpers and look equally great on water bottles, coolers, tackle boxes and laptops.
New, waterproof decals featuring original artwork, released every year in July, are available for a $5 donation at the local tax collector’s office. Donations for decals go directly to funding manatee and sea turtle research, rescue and management efforts.
This year’s decals emphasize the importance of conserving Florida’s waterways and beaches for manatees and sea turtles:
- “Protect Your Waterways, Protect Their Home” provides a reminder that manatees are found throughout Florida’s waterways including rivers, bays, canals and coastal areas. Keeping track of trash and keeping Florida’s waterways clean can prevent manatees from ingesting and becoming entangled in marine debris and waste.
- “A Generation of Protection Brings Record Results” highlights Florida’s efforts to protect sea turtles that resulted in record numbers of loggerhead and green sea turtle nests in 2023. Everyday actions such as keeping beaches clean and free of debris, removing recreational equipment at the end of beach visits and keeping beaches dark at night can protect nesting sea turtles and hatchlings from life-threatening situations.
This year’s decals also conveniently display the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922), where you can report a dead, injured, entangled or sick manatee or sea turtle.
You can also contribute to manatee and sea turtle conservation through purchasing a “Save the Manatee” or “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” specialty license plate at your local tax collector’s office.
For more information on manatee and sea turtle conservation in Florida, visit MyFWC.com/Manatee or MyFWC.com/SeaTurtle. If you’re out of state or the new decals are unavailable at your tax collector’s office, or to view and collect decals from previous years (1992-2023), type “decals” into the search bar at MyFWC.com.
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.