This July 4th Weekend, Remember the Manatees
This July 4th Weekend, Remember the Manatees
Get Free Public Awareness Signs & Banners
Save the Manatee Club offers a variety of free public awareness materials to Floridians to help protect the state’s official marine mammal – the endangered manatee. With the busiest boating weekend of the year coming up, the Club encourages the public to participate in manatee safety this July 4th weekend and throughout the year.
Waterproof banners are free to Florida boaters, and these bright yellow banners help boaters alert other boaters when manatees are present in the area with the easy-to-see directive, “Please Slow, Manatees Below.” Free yellow dock signs for shoreline property owners in Florida, plus boating decals, are also available from the Club. Both provide the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) hotline number (1-888-404-3922) for reporting manatees in distress.
Dr. Katie Tripp, Director of Science and Conservation for Save the Manatee Club, says the public awareness signage combined with responsible boating and better reporting of injured manatees can make a significant difference in the lives of Florida’s gentle giants. “Even though Florida’s manatee population suffers from frequent, possibly daily watercraft strikes, there are only a handful of strikes that have been fully reported and documented. It is crucial that boaters report known or possible manatee strikes to the FWC. This reporting is essential for scientists to better understand the physics of manatee watercraft strikes, and for managers to most effectively assign areas of needed protection on our state’s waterways.”
Julie Doble posted the Club’s manatee awareness sign on a canal in Apollo Beach that leads to Tampa Bay. “We observed quite a few dolphins in our canal in January and then came the manatees,” said Doble. “I grew tired of running out onto the dock to wave and shout at boaters who were going too fast and didn’t understand the meaning of ‘no wake’ zone.”
Over in Hernando County, Patricia Cosner also posted one of the Club’s dock signs on her property. “Our canal dead ends so we put it on an angle facing the oncoming boats,” Cosner explained. “My neighbors and I find it a privilege to be able to see the manatees in their natural habitat and it is our responsibility to help keep the waterways as safe as possible. When a boat approaches and there are manatees in the water, we point to our sign and then to the water and ask them to cut their engine while passing.”
Dr. Tripp also reminds those who will be boating and fishing over the July 4th weekend to properly dispose of monofilament fishing line in recycling bins located at most boat ramps and other select locations because of the threat that discarded line poses to manatees and other marine life.
The free signs, banners and decals can be obtained by contacting Save the Manatee Club via e-mail at education@savethemanatee.org, by regular mail at 500 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751, or by calling toll free at 1-800-432-JOIN (5646). “Manatee Protection Tips for Boaters” can be found on the Club’s website at www.savethemanatee.org/boatertips.htm.
For more information on manatees, the Adopt-A-Manatee® program, or to sign up for the Club’s free e-newsletter, visit the Club’s website at www.savethemanatee.org.