Use caution while boating this Memorial Day Weekend
To the editor:
Memorial Day traditionally signals the start of the summer boating season. Save the Manatee Club cautions recreational boaters over the holiday weekend to be mindful of the manatees traveling, resting, feeding, and playing throughout Florida’s ever-busy waterways.
Last year, a record-setting 97 manatees were killed by boat strikes in Florida waters. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s hotline number is 1-888-404-3922 for reporting manatees in distress.
Save the Manatee Club is actively distributing the signs to Florida shoreline property owners and the decals to Sunshine State boaters in preparation for the summer boating season. Florida boaters can also request the Club’s free, “Please Slow: Manatees Below” waterproof, bright yellow banner to alert other boaters when manatees are present in the area.
Save the Manatee Club’s heightened public awareness and education efforts coincide with National Boating Safety Week, which runs May 22 through the 28.
To further safeguard manatees over the Memorial Day weekend and beyond, 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 FWC at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) or #FWC or *FWC on your cellular phone, or use VHF Channel 16 on your marine radio. Recreational boaters are advised to review and carry up-to-date navigation charts onboard their vessels to help avoid shallow areas where manatees feed and rest. Boating guides that feature manatee speed zones for each regulated county are available from FWC and should also be reviewed prior to boating and kept onboard for continued reference. Additional “Manatee Protection Tips for Boaters” can be found on the Club’s website at www.savethemanatee.org/boatertips.htm.
The free decals, signs, and banners mentioned above can be obtained by contacting Save the Manatee Club via email 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).
For more information on manatees, the Adopt-A-Manatee program, or to sign up for the Club’s free e-newsletter, visit the Club’s website at www.savethemanatee.org.
Janice Nearing
Director of Public Relations
Save the Manatee Club