Post by tekmac on Jun 27, 2005 10:46:20 GMT -5
By MIKE SALINERO msalinero@tampatrib.com
Published: Jun 21, 2005
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TAMPA - More than 300,000 acres of Florida coastal waters have speed zones to protect manatees from boats.
Put another way, manatee protection zones cover 22 percent of the state's in-shore waters where manatees congregate. More speed zones are being posted.
Yet the most recent statistics on manatee mortality raises questions about how effective the speed zones are in preventing collisions between boats and the endangered sea cows.
Through May, there were 40 manatee deaths caused by watercraft, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. That's an increase from 34 such deaths during the first five months of 2004. If that rate continues, the number of watercraft-related deaths will easily top last year's total of 69.
The rising death rate doesn't translate into easy conclusions about the effectiveness of speed zones. Factors other than speeding, such as the proliferation of boats in state waters, can contribute to increasing numbers of dead manatees.
Patty Thompson, director of science and conservation for The Save the Manatee Club, said she doesn't think the speed zones are working. She blames it on a lack of compliance. Marine police officers tell her they have been increasingly deployed to homeland security missions since Sept. 11.
``They say they don't have the resources to do any better job on compliance than they are doing,'' Thompson said, ``and one of the main reasons is they've been called away to do homeland security.''
Maj. Bruce Buckson of the commission's law enforcement division denies that port protection and other homeland security missions are hurting the agency's ability to police manatee speed zones. In some areas, such as Port Canaveral and Port Everglades, port and manatee protection overlap, Buckson said.
``There's a lot of water out there, but I think we're making pretty good use of what we've got,'' Buckson said.
Two years ago, the state Legislature transferred $2.5 million in marina gas taxes to Fish and Wildlife to pay for 10 additional marine police. The amount transferred increased to $5 million this year.
Despite more money, there are on average just 2.5 officers patrolling each coastal county per shift, according to commission spokesman Gary Morse. The agency has yet to reach a goal set two years ago by commission Col. Julie Jones of patrolling manatee zones 50,000 hours a year.
The Coastal Conservation Association, a fishermen's group, has for years questioned the proliferation of manatee speed zones. Executive Director Ted Forsgren said he believes some speed zones are effective, but others do nothing but antagonize boaters. Forsgren said Fish and Wildlife should analyze the effectiveness of the speed zones.
Forsgren agrees with Thompson of the Save the Manatee Club that the state doesn't have enough officers to effectively enforce speed limits.
``I don't think you're ever going to have the kind of presence on the water like you have on the streets with normal police and sheriff's officers because (the water) is too huge,'' he said. ``That why they need to have buy-in and support from the boating community.''
Published: Jun 21, 2005
Advertisement
TAMPA - More than 300,000 acres of Florida coastal waters have speed zones to protect manatees from boats.
Put another way, manatee protection zones cover 22 percent of the state's in-shore waters where manatees congregate. More speed zones are being posted.
Yet the most recent statistics on manatee mortality raises questions about how effective the speed zones are in preventing collisions between boats and the endangered sea cows.
Through May, there were 40 manatee deaths caused by watercraft, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. That's an increase from 34 such deaths during the first five months of 2004. If that rate continues, the number of watercraft-related deaths will easily top last year's total of 69.
The rising death rate doesn't translate into easy conclusions about the effectiveness of speed zones. Factors other than speeding, such as the proliferation of boats in state waters, can contribute to increasing numbers of dead manatees.
Patty Thompson, director of science and conservation for The Save the Manatee Club, said she doesn't think the speed zones are working. She blames it on a lack of compliance. Marine police officers tell her they have been increasingly deployed to homeland security missions since Sept. 11.
``They say they don't have the resources to do any better job on compliance than they are doing,'' Thompson said, ``and one of the main reasons is they've been called away to do homeland security.''
Maj. Bruce Buckson of the commission's law enforcement division denies that port protection and other homeland security missions are hurting the agency's ability to police manatee speed zones. In some areas, such as Port Canaveral and Port Everglades, port and manatee protection overlap, Buckson said.
``There's a lot of water out there, but I think we're making pretty good use of what we've got,'' Buckson said.
Two years ago, the state Legislature transferred $2.5 million in marina gas taxes to Fish and Wildlife to pay for 10 additional marine police. The amount transferred increased to $5 million this year.
Despite more money, there are on average just 2.5 officers patrolling each coastal county per shift, according to commission spokesman Gary Morse. The agency has yet to reach a goal set two years ago by commission Col. Julie Jones of patrolling manatee zones 50,000 hours a year.
The Coastal Conservation Association, a fishermen's group, has for years questioned the proliferation of manatee speed zones. Executive Director Ted Forsgren said he believes some speed zones are effective, but others do nothing but antagonize boaters. Forsgren said Fish and Wildlife should analyze the effectiveness of the speed zones.
Forsgren agrees with Thompson of the Save the Manatee Club that the state doesn't have enough officers to effectively enforce speed limits.
``I don't think you're ever going to have the kind of presence on the water like you have on the streets with normal police and sheriff's officers because (the water) is too huge,'' he said. ``That why they need to have buy-in and support from the boating community.''