| Size of Tampa Bay in square miles |
400 |
 |
| Number of Florida Marine patrol officers patrolling the bay; supplemented by 7 Pinellas County Sheriff's officers & 4 Hillsborough County Sheriff's officers |
8 |
|
| Total number of boats registered in Hillsborough, Pinellas & Manatee counties in 2001 |
121,822 |
|
| Number of ships calling on Tampa Bay in 2001 |
4,746 |
|
| Average depth of the bay in feet, except in shipping lanes dredged to depths of 43 feet. |
12 |
|
| Number of Royal Tern nesting colonies in Tampa Bay, representing half of all colonies in Florida |
3 |
|
| Spent so far on bailout of Piney Point & Mulberry phosphate facilities |
$20
million |
|
| Number of invasive exotic plant species on Florida's most unwanted list |
68 |
|
| Acres in Florida overtaken by invasive, non-native plants. Of that, an estimated 1 million acres are Brazilian pepper trees, which choke out other plant life |
1.7
million |
|
State & local tab for controlling invasive exotic plants
(FY 98-99) |
$57
million |
|
| Sources: Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, Florida Marine Patrol, University of Florida, Florida Dept. of Motor Vehicles, Tampa & Manatee Port Authorities, Florida Audubon Society, Boaters Guide to Tampa Bay.
|
