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After more than 20 hours of public hearings, including one in Manatee County attended by nearly 600 people, a local committee has finalized recommendations for manatee protection zones in Tampa Bay.
The Local Rule Review Committee - the first of its kind to meet in Florida - equally represented manatee advocates and waterway users including fishermen and dockbuilders. Committee members, many of whom also serve on the Tampa Bay Estuary Program's Manatee Awareness Coalition, voted on 13 specific proposals from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission which encompassed much of the bay's shoreline.
FWC had proposed the increased manatee protection zones as a result of a legal settlement forged last year between the state and various environmental groups. The state organization will begin considering the local recommendations in November for possible implementation in 2004.
The local recommendations are:
 Cockroach Bay: Reject the state proposal to implement a regulatory slow speed zone because the Hillsborough County Commission had previously endorsed a 3-year boater education program to be conducted by the Cockroach Bay Users Group. Little Manatee River: Endorse the state proposal for a blanket 25 mph speed zone in the Little Manatee River west of I-75, and modify the proposal to require slow speed east of I-75.
Apollo Beach area: Endorse the state proposal for a slow speed zone in the small "polygon" at the northwestern tip of Apollo Beach (the "Hammerhead") that is currently sandwiched between existing local and federal speed zones. Hillsborough Bay: Reject the state proposal for a regulatory slow speed zone in the entire eastern side of McKay Bay and the entire Palm River.
MacDill Air Force Base area: Reject the state proposal for regulatory slow speed zone along shoreline from approximately Misener Marine south to and encompassing MacDill AFB, because a local City of Tampa speed zone is going into effect in a portion of this zone, and the remainder is already a no-entry homeland security zone.
Old Tampa Bay (east) from the Courtney Campbell Causeway north to the Pinellas County line: Cap speeds at 25 mph in all existing marked channels from the Hillsborough County border with Pinellas County to the Courtney Campbell Bridge and reject the state proposal for slow speed in the flats outside the channels from shore to approximately the 6-foot contour. The committee also recommended that Channel A be marked as 25 mph along its entire length to the existing no wake zone at the residential canal developments near the Bayport Yacht Club.
Old Tampa Bay (east) from the Courtney Campbell Causeway south to the Gandy Bridge: The committee failed to reach a consensus recommendation for this area after a lengthy discussion and examination of several less restrictive alternatives.
Old Tampa Bay (West): Reject the state proposal for this area, recommending instead that the 6-foot contour be identified as a "Seagrass Caution Area" for purposes of boater education, and that the designation be noted on boat ramp kiosks and in Boater's Guides.
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Weedon Island Area: Reject the proposal for state regulation of the area south of the Gandy Bridge, encompassing the Progress Energy (Florida Power) power plant outfall and the Weedon Island Preserve, because Pinellas County has implemented a comprehensive regulatory plan for this area that includes slow and idle speed zones, as well as combustion engine exclusion zones. The committee did recommend that the FWC assist the county in enforcing the speed restrictions in this area.
In the area north of the Gandy Bridge, encompassing the shallow waters from the Howard Frankland Bridge to the Gandy Bridge, as well as the Big Island area north of the Howard Frankland, the committee failed to reach a consensus recommendation after a lengthy discussion and examination of several modifications to the state proposal.
St. Petersburg Area: Reject the state proposal for this area because the city of St. Petersburg has several local speed zones in this area that the committee deemed adequate for manatee protection.
Boca Ciega Bay: The committee recommended no additional regulation in this area because Pinellas County has an active and apparently successful resource management program in place that encompasses some regulatory motor-exclusion zones as well as signs warning boaters to operate with caution in shallow waters with seagrass beds. The committee also recommended that the flats between the ICW and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge be placed under county management, and that the state and the Florida Department of Transportation work with the county to accomplish that.
Terra Ceia Bay/Manatee River Area, Upper Manatee River and Anna Maria Sound: Defer to the county ordinance for the remainder of Manatee County's waterways within the purview of the committee, with the exception of several 25 mph channels or traditional-use corridors recommended by the committee but not presently included in the county ordinance. Specifically, the committee supports 25 mph limits in the following identified channels or deeper-water travel paths:
- a deep-water corridor into and through Miguel Bay.
- a deeper-water travel corridor to the south of Joe Island, running east and west.
- a deeper-water corridor to the west of Joe Island, running north and south.
- the entrance channel into Bishop Harbor.
Upper Manatee River/Braden River Area: Create a slow speed zone in the Braden River south of approximately the city of Bradenton line, or the Braden River Lakes subdivision, with no provision for faster access, as currently specified in Manatee County Ordinance 99-03. North of that point, the committee recommended that a 25 mph channel be provided to allow faster access for boaters to the Manatee River.
Additionally, the committee endorsed the county's existing ordinance creating a 300-foot slow speed shoreline buffer in the Manatee River east of I-75, and called on the state to defer rulemaking in this area until the county has completed an expected revision of its existing ordinance, and then for the state to adopt the county ordinance as the official state rule for this area.
Finally, the committee endorsed the county's intention to identify and exempt several traditional water sports recreation areas from the slow speed zone restrictions.
Additionally, the local committee recommended that all seagrass beds within the 6-foot contour of Tampa Bay be designated as "Seagrass Caution Zones" for purposes of boater education.
Photos courtesy of Lowry Park Zoo.
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