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Conservation Agencies
Encourage Boaters to Self-Report Collisions with Manatees
The Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service) are looking to the public for help in conserving the
Florida manatee population. The agencies are encouraging boaters
to report accidental watercraft collisions with Florida manatees
through a new joint effort.
Agency officials want people to
understand that conserving manatees is the goal and boaters can
help by voluntarily reporting incidents involving these animals.
Anyone who strikes a manatee or observes a manatee being hit by
a boat should call the Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at
1-888-404-3922. Boaters should be prepared to provide the
incident location, weather conditions, boat specifications, and
other relevant information.
"We want everyone to know that people
who are operating their boat lawfully and responsibly should not
be afraid to report accidental collisions with manatees," said
Ken Haddad, Executive Director of the Commission.
"Management decisions are made based on
sound science. The public can play a vital role in helping
collect this data and, in turn, have a direct role in future
manatee conservation efforts."
While the agencies continue to try to
minimize the number of manatee deaths and injuries, the goal and
hope of this effort is that the self-reporting of manatee/boat
collisions will actually increase, with two significant
benefits. Ongoing local, state, and federal law enforcement
activities will continue through the joint task forces.
The goals of this self-reporting are two
fold.
First, a quick response may increase the
chance of an injured animal being rescued, treated successfully,
and ultimately returned to their natural habitat.
Second, scientists can gain an improved
understanding of other boat strikes. If scientists can match the
marks on the animal with the type of boat or propeller causing
the wound, it will provide a better understanding of what kinds
of boats, motors, or other circumstances cause the most problems
for manatees. In turn, this may allow adjustments in management
practices to prevent such strikes from occurring or even lead to
future design changes in boats. Presently, there are only a
handful of cases where the vessel that struck a manatee is
actually known.
The agencies credit Bill Allbright as
the driving force for this new initiative. Allbright is the
government affairs chairman of the Florida Council of Yacht
Clubs and also volunteers at the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife
Research Institute in St. Petersburg where scientists perform
necropsies on dead manatees to determine the cause of death.
"No one operating a boat responsibly and
legally intentionally runs over a manatee, but I think people
don’t report it because they fear they will get in trouble,"
Allbright said.
"Bill has been pushing us for awhile,
and rightfully so," said Sam Hamilton, Regional Director for the
Service. "People who disregard the law must be held accountable,
but we understand that people operating their boats responsibly
and legally may accidentally hit manatees. Under such
circumstances, we treat accidents as what they are
accidents. We want boaters to report them to us so we have a
chance to rescue the animal and a chance to learn more about how
to protect the species."
Both agencies strongly encourage boaters
to know the rules of the road, boat safely and responsibly,
watch out for manatees, and obey all federal, state, and local
laws and regulations including those specifically established
for manatee protection or boater safety. Collisions with boats
are a significant source of injury and mortality in manatees.
Minimizing these injuries is an important factor in recovery of
the species.
For more information on the agencies’
manatee programs, go to:
Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission:
