Manatees in Tampa Bay

In winter Tampa Bay manatees crowd the warm outflows of power plants, because FWC says these plants let manatees winter in Tampa Bay, north of their historical range (FWC, Warm Water Refugia).

The trigger is water temperature. FWC says manatees seek out warm water areas whenever the water drops below about 68 degrees Fahrenheit (FWC, Manatee Habitat). FWC adds that manatees wintering this far north are much more reliant on warm-water refugia than manatees at a south Florida plant (FWC), so the Tampa outflows matter more here than a plant does in south Florida.

Federal rules name the key Tampa Bay sites. The Tampa Electric Company Big Bend Manatee Sanctuary covers about 29.85 acres of eastern Tampa Bay around the warm-water outflow of the Big Bend station, west of Jackson Branch (50 CFR 17.108). The Port Sutton Manatee Sanctuary covers about 2.7 acres at the outflow of the Tampa Electric Company Gannon station, part of Tampa Bay in Tampa.

A third federal sanctuary sits across Old Tampa Bay in Pinellas County: about 29.82 acres at the Bartow Electric Generating Plant outflow on the northern shore of Weedon Island (50 CFR 17.108).

Inside the Big Bend and Port Sutton manatee sanctuaries all waterborne activities are prohibited from November 15 through March 31 each year, and the larger refuges around them require idle speed for the same months (50 CFR 17.108).

Source: eCFR, 50 CFR 17.108. The Big Bend refuge is the entrance channel and the waters south of the Big Bend sanctuary, and the Port Sutton refuge takes in the waters surrounding its sanctuary, including all waters within Port Sutton. The rule lists exceptions, including watercraft access and property maintenance through sanctuaries by adjoining property owners, their guests, employees and designees. The federal text states that watercraft are prohibited from operating at speeds greater than idle speed in both refuges from November 15 through March 31, inclusive.

Federal and state protection can apply to the same Tampa Bay water: Tampa Electric describes its Big Bend discharge canal as a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary (Tampa Electric), while the FWC Hillsborough maps show only FWC zones, note that other local, state or federal zones may exist, and advise boaters to abide by the regulations as posted on the water (FWC Hillsborough County maps).

State manatee zones in Hillsborough County waters are set by rule 68C-22.013 of the Florida Administrative Code, and FWC maps show seven zone types from Slow Speed All Year to a seasonal No Entry zone (FWC Hillsborough County manatee zone maps).

Source: FWC, Hillsborough County Manatee Protection Zones. The map sheets run from Old Tampa Bay near the Gandy Bridge, the Howard Frankland Bridge and Culbreath Bayou, through Hillsborough Bay, Port Sutton, the Alafia River and Bull Frog Creek, to Apollo Beach, Ruskin, the Little Manatee River and Bahia Beach. For boundary descriptions the maps point to the rule text.

Two dates are worth flagging. Rule 68C-22.013 Hillsborough County Zones has a latest adopted version with an effective date of 1/5/2005, with history notes of New 3-19-79, Amended 12-12-02 and 1-5-05 (flrules.org, Rule 68C-22.013), and FWC labels its map configuration accurate as of April 2016 (FWC). The map cover sheet also states that the rule was last amended 1/5/2005, so a map dated 2016 is describing a rule text unchanged since 2005, and FWC advises Tampa boaters to abide by the regulations as posted on the water.

FWC sets state manatee zones in Tampa Bay under the Manatee Sanctuary Act, section 379.2431(2) of the Florida Statutes, and Hillsborough County can add local zones only with FWC approval (FWC, Manatee Protection Zones).

FWC describes its manatee rules as limits on the speed and operation of vessels to prevent harmful collisions and harassment, and in areas especially important to manatees they can prohibit or limit entry and restrict activities (FWC). All of them sit in Chapter 68C-22 of the Florida Administrative Code, where Hillsborough County's are rule 68C-22.013 (flrules.org).

A local zone made by Hillsborough County or city ordinance has to be approved by FWC before it takes effect, and it cannot include the main marked channel of the Florida Intracoastal Waterway or waters within 100 feet of it (FWC). When FWC itself considers new or amended zones, its first step is to notify the affected county, which then has 60 days to form a Local Rule Review Committee to review the preliminary proposal.

For a Tampa resident who wants to follow a rule change, FWC publishes a Notice of Rule Development and mails it to everyone who has requested to be notified when FWC considers manatee rulemaking in the affected county, and Rule Development Workshops can also be held (FWC).

The main public spot is Tampa Electric's Manatee Viewing Center at 6990 Dickman Rd. in Apollo Beach, open daily from November 1 to April 15 and closed until November 1, 2026 (Tampa Electric, Manatee Viewing Center).

By Tampa Electric's own description, its Big Bend discharge canal is a state and federally designated manatee sanctuary (Tampa Electric), which matches the Big Bend sanctuary in the federal list (50 CFR 17.108). At the end of its 900 foot tidal walk, manatees can be viewed in the power station's warm water. Season hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., trails close at 4 p.m., parking and admission are free, and questions go to 813-228-4289. Pets are not allowed, though service animals are welcome.

Tampa Electric says many manatees are likely once the water drops below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and its two webcams run through the April 15 end of the season (Tampa Electric). Checking the webcam before driving to Apollo Beach on a mild day saves a wasted trip.

Inside Tampa itself, ZooTampa at Lowry Park runs the David A. Straz, Jr. Critical Care Center, which ZooTampa calls the largest nonprofit manatee critical care center in the world (ZooTampa, Manatee Conservation). By the zoo's own count, more than 630 manatees have been rescued over more than 30 years, most of them returned to the wild, and it streams the manatee habitat on an underwater webcam.

Injured, orphaned or dead manatees in Tampa Bay are reported to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at (888) 404-FWCC, 888-404-3922, the Florida number on NOAA Fisheries' stranding contact list (NOAA Fisheries, Report a Stranded Animal).

While waiting for responders to a Tampa Bay manatee, NOAA asks that people and pets be kept back at least 50 yards, or 150 feet, from a stranded animal (NOAA Fisheries).

Rescued manatees can end up in rehabilitation at ZooTampa, which calls the manatees at its critical care center patients and says the majority of the more than 630 it has rescued were rehabilitated and returned to their native waters (ZooTampa). Last verified: October 18, 2026, against 50 CFR 17.108 on the eCFR, rule 68C-22.013 on flrules.org, the FWC manatee zone, habitat and refugia pages and maps, Tampa Electric, ZooTampa and NOAA Fisheries.