MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
recreational boats in the affected counties. As noted 
above, there was a marked decline in vessel-related 
deaths in 1992 (see Table 2) although it is too soon to 
determine if this is the result of recently implemented 
management measures. 
Florida’s Inland Navigation Districts are responsi- 
ble for posting and maintaining signs for adopted 
regulatory areas within their boundaries. This in- 
cludes all coastal counties on the State’s east coast and 
four coastal counties on the west coast. Outside of 
these areas, responsibility for posting signs is shared 
by the Florida Department of Natural Resources and 
the individual counties. Given the extent of new 
regulatory zones, the task of identifying sign locations 
and posting and maintaining signs is enormous. 
Significant progress has been made, but much remains 
to be done. 
At the Commission’s review, a representative of 
the Florida Inland Navigation District, the agency re- 
sponsible for posting and maintaining signs on Flor- 
ida’s east coast, reported that about 700 signs had 
been posted since adoption of the first county rules in 
1990. An additional 800 to 1,000 signs may be 
needed by the time rules for the remaining east coast 
counties are adopted. 
Enforcement of the regulations is provided prin- 
cipally by the Florida Marine Patrol and the Game 
and Fresh Water Fish Commission. The heads of 
both of those agencies reported on the commitment of 
their officers to enforcing the new manatee rules. 
Because of staff limitations and many other enforce- 
ment responsibilities, however, enforcement of the 
new rules is difficult. To address the burden, it was 
suggested that funds be provided to pay overtime for 
enforcement officers who choose to extend their 
patrols and devote the additional time exclusively to 
enforcing manatee protection rules. It also was noted 
that compliance could be enhanced by new boater 
education programs and charts designed to make 
operators aware of waterway rules before venturing 
onto waterways. 
In addition to collisions between manatees and fast- 
moving boats, large, slow-moving vessels also cause 
an unknown number of manatee deaths. These deaths 
12 
may be due, in part, to animals being pulled into 
propellers by the currents generated by large, power- 
ful blades or because the deeper draft of large vessels 
does not provide adequate clearance between the 
bottom, where manatees dive to avoid the vessel, and 
the vessel’s propeller. Recent work by the Navy to 
design and install propeller guards on large tugs at its 
base in Georgia suggests that useful mitigation mea- 
sures are possible. Therefore, an assessment of 
manatee mortality caused by large vessels and possible 
responses to the problem appears warranted. 
County Manatee Protection Plans — Given the 
rapid growth of Florida’s human population and the 
need to plan properly for associated development, the 
Florida Legislature passed a law in 1984 requiring 
local governments to prepare growth management 
plans. As part of these plans, the 13 key manatee 
counties are to prepare manatee protection plans. 
Although boat speed rules are intended to be the 
centerpiece of these plans, other manatee protection 
provisions, such as boating studies, marina siting 
policies, and information and education programs, 
must also be addressed. As work to develop boat 
speed rules is completed, other planning elements will 
receive greater attention. Growth management plans 
must be approved by the Department of Community 
Affairs, and the Florida Department of Natural 
Resources works closely with the Department and the 
counties on the manatee protection component. 
To date, Citrus County is the only county to have 
an approved manatee protection plan. Work on plans 
by the other 12 counties is in various stages of com- 
pletion. Substantial efforts are needed to complete 
manatee protection plans for the remaining 12 key 
counties and to extend similar efforts to other counties 
that have relatively high manatee numbers or high 
manatee mortality. 
Land Acquisition — Over the past 30 years the 
State of Florida has developed the nation’s most 
aggressive State land acquisition program. A central 
part of its efforts has been to purchase lands through 
the Conservation and Recreational Lands (CARL) 
Trust Fund. At the direction of the Florida Governor 
and Cabinet, special attention has been given to 
acquiring important manatee habitat. Five percent of 
