This sculpture was created through a joint effort of the Project Reef Keeper, The Center for Marine Conservation and artist Rick Beau Lieu. The idea was to create sea creatures out of repossessed metal which had been associated with environmentally hazardous material; oil sludge in this case. Rick used pipes that had been fasten to the deck of an Exxon offshore oil rig in the Bahamas and were used as an oil return flushing system. This material would serve the project mission and provided for the environmental clean up exercise outlined in the project. The artist removed the sludge and sent it out for reprocessing to collect any soil contaminated during the process and likewise treat it. Rick built three of seven marine sculptures using this material.

The issues of manatee endangerment in Florida spark debate with the question of why manatees are considered endangered and then how should they be protected. Currently, the approximately 2500 manatees of Florida are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Federal Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. The Florida Marine Wildlife Agency reports 44% of manatees are killed indirectly by human contact. And even though the majority of deaths are declared "natural," humans' involvement and interaction with the environment has changed and affected the environment in which the manatees live. Therefore, no matter what the particular stated cause of death is of manatees, somehow their deaths, and so their endangerment as well, can be linked to humans.