Manatee Boaters

July 11, 2007

Caring but careless boaters have apparently become the biggest threat to Florida’s manatees. University of Florida researchers tracked the speeds of boaters through manatee zones in one high-traffic Florida county. Results show more than half, fifty-five percent didn’t comply with signs ordering them to slow down. Yet when UF researcher John Jett sent them follow-up surveys, eighty-four percent claimed they did.

“It might mean that they simply don’t know they’re non-compliant. I looked at miles per hour rating and not all boaters have speedometers.”

While speedometers might help, experts say Florida’s waterways in particular need more uniformity in signage. They say that could get boaters attention and increase the chances they will slow down.

“In your car, in the highway system, every speed limit sign you see is uniform. The font size is the same, the color scheme is the same, the height from the ground is very uniform. That’s not the case on our waterways. It’s kind of a hodgepodge of signage, so I think there’s room for improvement there.”

But there’s good news for sea cows, nearly three out of four boaters surveyed agreed that manatees should be protected.

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