The Issue:
Cuts in state and federal funding have resulted in fewer on-water law enforcement officers in critical areas of Florida. The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, created to safeguard manatees, is one such area. In July, a mother manatee was horribly injured in the bay by a speeding boat and subsequently died. Very recently, another manatee was also horribly injured by a speeding boat and died. Unfortunately, this scenario will continue to be repeated many times in areas heavily used by both boats and manatees unless law enforcement efforts are increased dramatically.
Although we don’t believe in gratuitously displaying manatee photos depicting disfiguring injuries, we have decided - after much soul-searching - to post some online photos of the poor manatee mother because a picture is worth a thousand words. Warning: These photos are very graphic. Click here to view photos.
Our immediate goal is to get more officers on the water during times of peak use, even if it means Save the Manatee Club pays for them. We are also increasing boater awareness with a new poster featuring the message, “Navigate With Care, Manatees Are There.” And we will advocate to eliminate dangerous high speed areas.
What You Can Do:
Take action now by sending the following letter to Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and to Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist, asking them to immediately increase their on-water law enforcement presence throughout manatee habitat. And please send this alert to your friends and family and ask them to take action, too.
You can help safeguard manatees in Crystal River and other critical areas of Florida by donating now to Save the Manatee Club. Thank you so much for your help!
Subject: Increase On-Water Enforcement
Dear Secretary Kempthorne and Governor Crist:
At least 92 manatees were killed last year by boats, the second highest number ever documented. This year, many more manatees have also been killed by speeding boats. Additionally, most living manatees have been hit by boats and must suffer through these sometimes horrendous injuries that can negatively affect their ability to eat, swim, and take care of their young.
For the manatee, it can only get worse as the number of boats using Florida’s already busy and dangerous waterways continues to increase. With more and more boats, the probability that a manatee will be injured or killed grows larger.
Further, voluntary boater compliance in most areas of Florida has historically been poor. And according to a study released this year by the University of Florida, more than half the boaters observed sped through manatee protection zones, even though they indicated they cared about manatees in a subsequent poll.
With the continued loss of an enforcement presence, compliance could get much worse because many boaters will correctly assume that there is a very low likelihood of being ticketed for violating manatee boat speed zones.
In some critical areas in the state, the need for additional enforcement officers is already dire and likely to get worse without your taking immediate action. Take Crystal River, for instance, where there is a year-round manatee population and where numerous incidents of boats speeding through slow speed zones have been reported. In early July, a mother manatee was very badly injured by a speeding boat in Kings Bay, close to summer feeding sanctuaries, and later died before rescuers could help her. Very recently, another manatee was also horribly injured by a speeding boat in the Crystal River area and died.
I urge you to do all you can to increase the on-water enforcement presence in critical areas around Florida immediately to avoid the needless suffering and deaths of this endangered species whose population numbers just over 3,000.
I appreciate your prompt attention to this vital issue.
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