Save the Manatee Club's Boat Safely Poster

For Immediate Release: August 23, 2007

Note:  A high resolution jpeg (300 dpi) of a manatee image as well as a photo of the “Boat Safely” poster are available upon request.

Picture a lone manatee swimming peacefully along the bottom of a shallow waterway with a gleaming propeller blade looming dangerously close. Underwater photographer David Schrichte captured this powerful scene in a photo that has now been made into a 11” x17” boater awareness poster by Save the Manatee Club. It features the conservation message, “Navigate with Care, Manatees are There,” and encourages the boating community to “Boat Safely.” 

The Club is distributing the posters free of charge to businesses and organizations who are interested in displaying them in store-fronts and high traffic office areas to help spread the word amongst the many locals and tourists who boat on Florida’s busy waterways.

According to manatee mortality data from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, 417 manatees died last year, and the leading known cause of manatee deaths was from boat strikes, with at least 92 killed. “We need to do everything possible to safeguard manatees and secure the manatee’s future in the face of many growing threats,” said Patrick Rose, Executive Director of Save the Manatee Club. 

Doug Cifers, publisher of Florida Monthly Magazine in Altamonte Springs, likes the whole poster idea. “The Boat Safely poster program speaks volumes,” he said. “I spend a lot of time on the water with my family. From years of boating experience, I can tell you first-hand that safe boating will guarantee thrills of a lifetime. Our waterways will provide amazing wildlife encounters if boaters slow their pace, be aware, and remain safe. Everyone wins then – the manatees, other wildlife, and the boaters.”
 
In fact, Cifers likes the posters so much, he has come up with his own special offer. “Florida Monthly Magazine will donate a full-page, full-color ad to each of the first 12 Florida retailers who sign up with Save the Manatee Club to get a poster and display it,” proclaimed Cifers. Requests can be sent to the attention of jnearing@savethemanatee.org. 

To help protect manatees on a year-round basis, boaters should follow all posted boat speed regulations, slow down if manatees are in the vicinity, and stay in deep water channels when possible. If you see an injured, dead, tagged or orphaned manatee, or a manatee who is being harassed, call the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) or #FWC or *FWC on your cellular phone, or use VHF Channel 16 on your marine radio.

Business owners and operators who are interested in obtaining a free “Boat Safely” poster should contact Save the Manatee Club via e-mail at education@savethemanatee.org, by regular mail at 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751, or by calling toll free at 1-800-432-JOIN (5646). Please include your contact information along with full information on where the poster will be displayed.

Florida boaters can also request a free, “Please Slow: Manatees Below” bright yellow waterproof banner by contacting Save the Manatee Club via e-mail at education@savethemanatee.org. Please include full mailing information along with the area where you boat in Florida. The banners can be used to quickly alert other boaters that manatees are present in the area.

Also, if you are a Florida shoreline property owner, you can get a free aluminum sign for your dock which reads, “Please Watch for Manatees: Operate With Care." 

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