Location:
Cockroach Bay is an embayment
off of the southeastern shore of Tampa Bay. It is between the Little Manatee
and Manatee Rivers and is wholly within southern Hillsborough County.
Seagrass meadows are a prominent feature of this estuarine system and
are comprised primarily of both turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum)
and cuban shoal grass (Halodule wrightii).
Date of
Seagrass Protection Zone Authorization:
December 7, 1992
Authorization:
Chapter 1-11, Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission
(EPC) Wetland Rule as implemented with the authorization of Chapter 84-446,
Laws of Florida.
Wording
on Signs:
Resource Protection area #2; "No Boating: Except for watercraft
without internal combustion engines"
Resource
Protection areas #1, 3 and 4; "No Boating: No boats behind this
sign"
Enforcement:
Hillsborough County Sheriff, Aquatic Preserve Manager or Hillsborough
County EPC staff.
Enforcement
action:
Enforcement officers record the violating vessel's registration number,
the name of the owner/operator, names of passengers and information necessary
to identify the circumstances of the zone violation. This is then registered
as a violation of the Hillsborough County EPC Wetland Rule.
History:
Hillsborough County first addressed concerns for boating damage to
Cockroach Bay seagrasses in 1991, when the EPC designated a task force
to address seagrass destruction and water quality declines. Workshops
were held where public participation was encouraged through July of 1992.
This task force recommended that revisions to the Hillsborough County
EPC Wetland Rule, Chapter 1-11, were necessary to effectively protect
seagrass in Cockroach Bay. Necessary changes were made to allow for the
development of specific protection zones for seagrasses. The Cockroach
Bay Aquatic Preserve Management Advisory Team was established late in
1992 by the County Planning Commission with the intent of establishing
the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve Area of Concern and monitoring seagrass
protection efforts within this system. Four regions within Cockroach Bay
were identified by the EPC Board as qualifying recovery areas after a
public hearing on September 23, 1992. The zones became effective after
posting on December 7, 1992. All boat traffic with the exception of permitted
research and enforcement vessels are prohibited in Recovery Areas 1, 3
and 4 in an effort to facilitate enforcement and determine the actual
time for recovery of propeller scarred areas. Use of propeller driven
watercraft were prohibited at tidal stages below 18 inches above mean
lower low water elevation in Recovery Area 2 initially, but Chapter 1-11
was again amended on September 28, 1994, to prohibit any watercraft operating
with an internal combustion engine. This was largely due to enforcement
limitation recommendations from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office
and continued propeller scarring in this area. Cockroach Bay currently
enjoys protection from a supportive public, which act to educate boaters
about seagrass protection zones and increase compliance through literature
disbursement at locate ramps and on the water.
Alternative
Seagrass Protection Efforts:
A local public group, the Cockroach Bay Users Group (CBUG), has developed
an alternative mechanism to inform boaters of seagrass damage resulting
from operation of watercraft in shallow waters. CBUG has developed a boating
stop-light gauge consisting of PVC pipes with bands of green, yellow and
red in descending order that can be placed at boat ramps and on the edges
of susceptible seagrass meadows. At high stages of the tidal cycle, only
the green band is visible to boaters indicating that vessel access to
nearshore waters is "safe" or will not harm seagrass. At lower
tidal levels, the yellow band is visible indicating that the vessel operator
should exercise caution when proceeding into nearshore waters. Finally,
boaters are not permitted into nearshore waters of the Bay when the red
band is visible. This is viewed as a less restrictive management option
and one that any vessel operator can use with little additional training.
Currently, the level of compliance with this strategy is unknown and is
based solely on voluntary considerations.
Boating
Restriction Zones throughout Cockroach
Bay Aquatic Preserve
Seagrass
Protection Report
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