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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Places
Temporary Buoys at Eleven Federal Manatee Protection Areas
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December 16, 2002
Contact:
Chuck Underwood, 904-232-2580 ext. 109,
cell 904-910-6254
Christine Eustis, 404-679-7287, cell 678-296-6426
The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service announces today that eleven of the fifteen
areas designated as federal manatee protection zones on November 1,
2002, are being posted with temporary notification buoys on the water
to notify the public when they are entering a federal manatee protection
area.
The temporary notification buoys are the first step in permanently
signing these federal manatee protection areas. Permanent signs are
being manufactured, and the Service is working closely with the State
of Florida, the appropriate counties, and the U.S. Coast Guard to receive
the permits and approvals necessary to post these areas with permanent
signs. Until that process can be completed, the Service is taking action
to post these areas with temporary notification buoys to ensure the
protection of manatees. The Service believes these temporary measures
are essential as boater activity increases during the winter months
and manatees congregate in greater numbers in these areas.
The Service asks boaters to be on the look-out for temporary notification
buoys which are white and marked with international, blaze-orange, diamond,
marker symbols. The buoys indicate that boaters are entering federal
manatee protection areas and should slow down and be aware of manatees
in the water.
The eleven areas posted with temporary notification buoys include:
Federal Manatee Sanctuaries (these are areas where boats are
seasonally prohibited)
Hillsborough County
- The Big Bend Manatee Sanctuary is a manatee sanctuary, containing
approximately 12.08 ha (29.85 acres), at the Tampa Electric Company’’s
Big Bend Electric Generating Station’’s discharge canal
in Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County. This closure will prohibit all waterborne
activity at this site from November 15 through March 31. In addition,
the Service is designating a manatee refuge in the area surrounding
the sanctuary (see "Big Bend Manatee Refuge" below).
-
The Port Sutton Manatee Sanctuary is a seasonal manatee
sanctuary, encompassing approximately 1.1 ha (2.7 acres), at the warm
water discharge of the Tampa Electric Company’’s Gannon
Electric Generating Station in Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County. This
seasonal closure will prohibit all waterborne activity at this site
from November 15 through March 31, inclusive. In addition, we are
designating a manatee refuge in the area surrounding the sanctuary
(see "Port Sutton Manatee Refuge" below).
-
The Bartow Electric Generating Plant Manatee Sanctuary
is a seasonal manatee sanctuary, containing approximately 12.07 ha
(29.82 acres), at the warm water discharge of the Bartow Electric
Generating Plant in Tampa Bay, Pinellas County. This seasonal closure
will prohibit all waterborne activity at this site from November 15
through March 31.
Federal Manatee Refuges (these are areas where boating activity
is restricted)
Hillsborough County
-
The Big Bend Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
encompassing approximately 89.35 ha (220.79 areas), in the waters
adjacent to and south of the manatee sanctuary at the Tampa Electric
Company’’s Big Bend Electric Generating Station on Tampa
Bay in Hillsborough County to provide watercraft ingress and egress
to the lagoon and canals in North Apollo Beach. Watercraft activity
within this refuge will be regulated to idle speed from November 15
through March 31.
-
The Port Sutton Manatee Refuge is the Port Sutton
area surrounding the manatee sanctuary at the Tampa Electric Company’’s
Port Sutton (Gannon) Electric Generating Station, on Tampa Bay in
Hillsborough County, as a manatee refuge. The refuge area includes
approximately 39.2 ha (96.9 acres). Watercraft will be required to
proceed at idle speed within this refuge from November 15 through
March 31.
-
The Pansy Bayou Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
containing approximately 47 ha (116.1 acres) in the northern Pansy
Bayou area between City Island and the John Ringling Parkway Bridge
on Sarasota Bay in Sarasota County, to regulate vessel traffic to
slow speed year-round.
-
The Little Sarasota Bay Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge, containing
approximately 214.20 ha (529.40 acres), to control vessel speeds in
the little Sarasota Bay area between the Blackburn Point Bridge and
Intracoastal Waterway Channel Marker "40" in Sarasota County.
The speed designation for this area will be slow speed, 40 km per
hour (25 miles per hour) in the channel, year-round.
-
The Lemon Bay Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
containing approximately 383.61 ha (948.06 acres), in Lemon Bay, Charlotte
County, from the Charlotte County/Sarasota County boundary to a line
approximately 1.6 km (1 mile) south of the Bay Road Bridge, for the
purpose of regulating vessel speeds. Speeds will be restricted to
slow speed, 40 km per hour (25 miles per hour) in the channel, year-round.
Charlotte and De Soto counties
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The Peace River Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
containing 1,698.11 ha (4,196.11 acres) more or less, in the Peace
River (located on the northeast corner of Charlotte Harbor) in Charlotte
and De Soto Counties. This refuge will include the river and specific
associated waters northeast of U.S. Highway 41. Waters within described
areas will be regulated to allow watercraft to travel at a maximum
speed of 40 km per hour (25 miles per hour), while other waters will
be regulated to provide for slow-speed vessel operation. These regulations
will be in effect year-round.
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The described areas include:
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(1) slow speed 300 meter (1,000 feet) shoreline
buffers between the U.S. Highway 41 and I-75 bridges;
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(2) slow speed outside of the marked navigation
channel, 40 km per hour (25 miles per hour) in the marked channel,
between the I-75 bridge and red channel marker "14";
- ( 3) 40 km per hour (25 miles per hour), upstream of red channel
marker "14";
- (4) slow speed in Jim Long Lake, Hunter Creek, and Deep Creek; and
- (5) slow speed in Shell Creek (if the U.S. Coast Guard or the State
of Florida approve and designate a marked channel in this area, the
channel may be designated as 40 km per hour (25 miles per hour) within
the channel.
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The Shell Island Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
containing approximately 32.60 ha (80.50 acres), for the purpose of
regulating vessel speeds at slow speed within the navigation channel
that is located just north of Shell Island at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee
River. This regulation will be in effect year-round.
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The Cocoa Beach Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
containing approximately 23.9 ha (59.1 acres), to regulate vessel
operation at slow speed year-round in the area adjacent to Municipal
Park, just west of Cocoa Beach in the Banana River, in Brevard County.
In addition, the remaining four of the fifteen federal manatee
protection areas have already been posted with permanent signs. These
areas are:
Brevard County
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The entire length of the Barge Canal Manatee Refuge
and an area extending eastward to the Canaveral Locks will be regulated
for slow-speed watercraft operations, both inside and outside the
marked channel, all year.
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Sykes Creek Manatee Refuge will be regulated for slow-
speed watercraft operation, both inside and outside the marked channel,
all year.
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The Haulover Canal Manatee Refuge is a manatee refuge,
containing approximately 8.95 ha (22.11 acres), within the confines
of Haulover Canal, located at the north end of Merritt Island between
the Indian River and Mosquito Lagoon, in Brevard County. Waters will
be designated as slow speed, channel included, year-round.
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The Blue Waters Manatee Sanctuary is a seasonal manatee
sanctuary, containing approximately 0.67 ha (1.66 acres), at the headwaters
of the Homosassa River, adjacent to the Homosassa Springs State Wildlife
Park, commonly referred to as the Blue Waters, in Citrus County. All
waterborne activities will be prohibited in this area from November
15 through March 31.
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