FWC POSTS NEW SLOW-SPEED ZONES IN TAMPA BAY REGION
September 13, 2005
Contact: Gary Morse (863) 648-3203
Dawn Griffin (850) 410-0656 x17179
Boaters in the Tampa Bay area need to be on the lookout for new manatee-protection speed zones. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is installing a combination of signs and buoys to mark the protection zones.
The new protection zones are within the waterways of Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties and include portions of:
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Old Tampa Bay: North of the Courtney Campbell Causeway within Safety Harbor and along the eastern shoreline to the Gandy Bridge. |
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Little Manatee River |
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Manatee County: South of Port Manatee and the Skyway Bridge, which includes Bishop Harbor, Miguel Bay, Terra Ceia Bay, Manatee River, Braden River, Anna Maria Sound, Palma Sola Bay and Sarasota Bay. |
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Pinellas County: Safety Harbor |
The FWC is working to educate boaters about the changes by distributing brochures at various marinas, parks, county registration offices and boat ramp facilities. These materials are also available through FWC’s Tampa office at (813) 272-2516 and on the FWC’s Web site.
“We encourage boaters to review these maps and become familiar with the zones, so they’re not surprised on the water,” said Dawn Griffin, who coordinates manatee-related regulatory waterway markers for the FWC. “At the same time, we want to remind boaters that they need to obey the regulations posted on the waterways. In some areas, there are existing waterway regulations that have been adopted by county governments, local municipalities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Our maps only reflect the new state manatee-protection zones.”
The FWC has already posted some of the new protection zones in Old Tampa Bay, Little Manatee River and Safety Harbor and plans to finish in Manatee County by the beginning of next year.
Visit MyFWC.com and click on “Manatees” to access manatee speed zone maps.
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