Tampa Bay
Manatee Watch
Category: Submerged
Cost: $ 60,000/year
Description: Tampa Bay Manatee Watch is a boater education
program for citizen volunteers to provide information and tools to assist
boaters in safely traveling in shallow waters where manatees feed and rest.
The program links protection of endangered manatees to protection of the seagrass
beds on which they depend, and which harbor many of Tampa Bay's most popular
sportfish. Manatee Watch volunteers provide safe boating "tools"
such as specialized nautical charts and polarized glasses that help boaters
identify seagrass beds and avoid collisions with manatees. Volunteers work
at boat ramps and on the water in a specially equipped pontoon boat, where
they serve as a visible reminder of the need to go slow in shallow waters.
Outcome: The Manatee Watch program has involved more than
100 community volunteers who have donated more then 6,000 hours to their time
to educate boaters about manatees and manatee habitat. A companion boater
behavior study is assessing the effectiveness of education versus regulation
in protecting an endangered species. Preliminary results indicate that in-depth,
targeted education, along with visible and easy-to-understand waterway signs,
can be just as effective as regulation in protecting manatees in some areas.
Contact: Nanette Holland, (727) 893-2765, nanette@tbep.org
Citation: Tampa Bay Estuary Website, www.tbep.org; BayWatch
website, www.tampabaywatch.org
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