 |
Manatees on the Move.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................A mass migration is underway on the Orange and Caloosahatchee Rivers in Lee County, prompting boaters and kayakers to take to the waters to see the hundreds of manatees heading downriver to feeding grounds. But law enforcement and wildlife officials want people to know they will be out en masse the next several days enforcing manatee speed zones, not only in Lee but Collier County as well. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, along with Lee County Sheriff's Office, Cape Coral Police, Fort Myers Police, Collier County Sheriff's Office, and other members of the Lee County Marine Law Enforcement Task Force and Collier Marine Alliance will focus on gaining compliance by boaters in the manatee zones, said FWC Capt. Denis Grealish, the supervisor for Lee and Charlotte counties. Education is the key to ensuring safe passage of the gentle, slow-moving creatures as they leave the Flower Power and Light power plant off State Road 82 in East Fort Myers and head down the Orange and Caloosahatchee Rivers to feeding areas in San Carlos Bay and Matlacha Pass. "That's when the greatest danger from boat strikes occurs," Grealish said Friday morning at a press briefing announcing the enforcement campaign. More than 500 manatees have congregated near the warm-water discharge of the power plant, he said. During a Friday trip up the Orange and Caloosahatchee rivers hundreds of manatees, ranging from about a foot-long to fully grown, large adults, could be seen swimming downriver and huddling in cove-like areas. Many had propeller scars on their bodies. In one area, no fewer than 15 manatees of all sizes were under mangroves. The sea cows eat certain grasses and they have nearly decimated them all along the rivers and in Manatee Park. The recent two-week-long cold snap pushed the manatees to congregate en masse near the warm-water discharge, but now that the waters have warmed and the food supply is nearly non-existent, they need to get to the bays to get food. And boaters can help them make the journey by being mindful of the manatee zones, Grealish said. Much information is available about the zones from a variety of resources including FWC's Web site, marinas, places that sell boats and boat supplies and even dockmasters are aware of the rules. A ticket for speeding through a manatee zone is $88, as one man from Canada found out Friday. He was traveling on plane in a restricted area when stopped by FWC Officers Al Simontis and Brad Bell. The man told Bell he knew the area, but later told Simontis he didn't. The man was probably traveling the speed limit for the intercoastal waterway, but was outside of the buoys delineating the manatee slow-speed, no wake zone. The maximum speed limit in the ICW is 25, outside of the posted area it is slow-speed, no wake or even idle speed in some places. The man also didn't have the required throwable flotation device onboard, which led to a written warning. Another man, from New Jersey, who was on plane in a manatee zone, was more fortunate because he received a written warning. He explained he knew the other half of the Caloosahatchee, but hadn't traveled upriver before. He visits the area about three months every year and has for about five or six years, he told the officers. At one point, he pulled out numerous pamphlets about the zones and other boating safety brochures, even exclaiming "save the manatee." His wife commented the couple tries their best to follow all boating laws by educating themselves. But because he truly thought he was outside of the posted zone and could go up on plane, and he had all required safety equipment, Bell gave him a written warning. The rules can be confusing to boaters who are not regulars on the water, that is why it is so important to educate them, Simontis said. He would rather educate the boating public if possible. Simontis is Bell's field training officer and made sure the rookie of less than a year looked at all factors in making decisions on the water. They both spoke with the people who had been pulled over, explaining not only manatee zones, but other boating safety issues such as even though a boat may have a horn, if it loses power, it's best to have a back-up such as a whistle. But boats are not the only thing that can harm the manatees. The cold weather - manatees do not fare well in prolonged water temperatures of less than 68 degrees - can cause them to stress, said Carli Segelson with the FWC's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg. In the past few days, at least three manatees have died in Collier County and another three have been found dead in Lee County, Grealish said. Cold stress is believed to have caused the deaths, but a necropsy will determine for sure. Last year, biologists documented 56 cold-related deaths, more than double the five-year average. Boat strikes attributed to 97 deaths and 114 newborns died. "The preliminary data indicate the numbers for both categories were at a record high for a calendar year," Segelson said in statements earlier this year. Last year Collier County had 27 reported manatee deaths; Lee had 60. An aerial survey was conducted in the past few days, but those results have not been released. Scientists caution that the number of manatees counted in an area means just that: that is the number of manatees in a specific area when the count is occurring. And with the number of manatees in local waters, people need to be cognizant of the tell-tale swirls and remember the slow-moving mammals cannot get out of the way of boats - it is up to boaters to be aware of them, even outside of manatee zones. "Our ultimate goal is not to write tickets," Grealish said, "but to gain compliance" and lessen the probability of boat-manatee incidents.
BACK TO LISTING NEXT >> |
