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A. INTRODUCTION
CCA Florida strongly urges the FWC to adopt the following recommendations. Both measures were recommended by the Lee County Local Rule Committee (LLRC).
RECOMMENDATION #1 - ESTABLISH A 25 MPH BY-PASS CORRIDOR FOR SMALLER BOATS AROUND SHELL ISLAND AT THE MOUTH OF THE CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER.
RECOMMENDATION #2 - IN THE MIDDLE AREA OF MATLACHA PASS, CHANGE THE CURRENT SLOW SPEED ZONE TO 25 MPH.
B. COMMENTS - CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER MOUTH
1. ANALYSIS OF MANATEE WATERCRAFT MORTALITIES AT ENTRANCE
OF CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER
In November 1999, new regulations were enacted which created a slow speed zone over the entire entrance to the Caloosahatchee River, except for a 25 mph zone in the marked channel. The intent of the regulation was to reduce watercraft mortalities. However, the immediate impact was a substantial increase in mortalities.
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Prior to the adoption of the slow speed zone in 1999, about 50% of the boats used a local knowledge corridor to the north of Shell Island to avoid the boat traffic in the marked channel.(2) Once the zone was adopted those boats were redirected to the 25 mph zone in the marked channel to avoid a long trip through the new slow speed zone. In the five years prior to adopting the zone, four watercraft mortalities were recovered; however, in the five years after there were twelve watercraft mortalities.
One significant conclusion from this analysis is that the unregulated state where large numbers of smaller boats used the by-pass corridor just north of Shell Island had less impact on manatees than the regulated state which pushed virtually all the boating traffic into the marked channel south of Shell Island. Therefore, re-establishing a 25 mph by-pass zone just north of Shell Island as recommended by the Lee County Local Review Committee, will not increase risks for manatees.
NOTE: The Caloosahatchee Entrance includes that area from Redfish Point west to the South end of Pine Island and from the Sanibel causeway north to the south end of Matlacha Pass.
2. LLRC RECOMMENDED BY-PASS CORRIDOR
The Local Rule Review Committee voted 8-1 for the 25 mph by pass-corridor. The Committee specified a 25 mph corridor (not a marked channel) and the extension of the existing ¼ mile wide slow speed buffer zone on the north side of the river. This would restore the corridor that was used by smaller boats up until the FWC slow speed zone was enacted in 1999.
3. MANATEE SIGHTING INFORMATION
A review of the FWC manatee sighting information at the mouth of the river shows that the overwhelming majority of the sightings to the north of Shell Island are along the north shoreline of the river. Those animals would continue to be in the slow speed mile buffer zone. The sightings data shows that manatees are not frequently seen in the proposed 25 mph corridor area.
4. BOATING SAFETY
For many years, boaters with local knowledge successfully used the by-pass corridor to avoid the congested boating traffic in the marked channel. It has been argued that, if the by-pass corridor is established, larger boats would run aground trying to follow small boats into the area. The FWC must not punish knowledgeable local boaters because of the careless boaters. Careless boaters run aground all over Florida. There will continue to be the existing marked navigation channel and the by-pass corridor can be marked with "warning -shallow water" signs just like the signs used in the Ft. DeSoto area of Pinellas County.
C. COMMENTS - MATLACHA PASS
1. ANALYSIS OF WATERCRAFT MORTALITIES
From the south end of Matlacha north to the bridge at Matlacha Isles there have been only two watercraft mortalities in the last 34 years! One was recovered before 1999 when there were no regulations and one occurred after the slow speed zone was adopted in 1999.
2. A COMPROMISE BETWEEN LLRC AND FWC STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS
Our recommendation is a compromise between what was recommended by the LLRC and the FWC staff recommendation. We recommend retaining a slow speed zone at the south end of Matlacha Pass in the triangle formed by the two access channels. That slow speed zone would encompass the majority of the manatee sightings at the south end of Matlacha Pass. The change to 25 mph would extend from that slow zone north only to the slow speed zone at the bridge to Matlacha Isles. The result would be a slow zone on the north side of the main channel about the same size as the new federal slow zone on the south side of the channel.
3. 25 MPH IS A MANATEE PROTECTION ZONE
We recognize that many manatees use the Matlacha Pass area and that a protective zone is justified. However, there is no need to mandate slow speed in the entire area, year round. There are also many manatees in Citrus County and the vast majority of the manatee speed zones in Citrus County are 25 mph zones.
D. CLOSING COMMENTS
1. OVER REACTION TO SPIKE IN 2001
Much of the push for new manatee zones in Lee County is the result of an over reaction to a spike in watercraft mortalities in 2001. This increase was most likely caused by a repowering of the Ft. Myers power plant. The following excerpt is from the FWC May 31, 2003 letter from Ken Haddad to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
"The re-powering of the plant may have had both temporary and long term effect on mortality from vessels. During the repowering the thermal discharge was reduced significantly. To increase the size of the warm-water refuge during this time, the plant used a "donkey boiler" to heat water and then discharge it directly into the discharge canal adjacent to the existing discharge pipe. This additional warm water did not provide a thermal plume as large as the typical in this area. With the reduced thermal discharge typical manatee behavior changed during that winter with about half the manatees that generally were found at the Fort Myers power plant could now be found at around Franklin Locks. It is possible that this shift in winter distribution had some bearing on the record high number of watercraft-caused manatee deaths recorded that year (23). The past winter (2002/03) the repowering was completed and manatee use of the warm-water refuge returned to levels consistent with what has been observed over the past 25 years. Interestingly, during that period there were only 2 watercraft-caused deaths in Lee County."
Following the repowering of the plant the numbers of watercraft mortalities went down dramatically. Please see the attached graphs of total and watercraft mortalities in Lee County. It should be noted that the significant decline in mortalities occurred before any additional speed zones were enacted.
2. RESTATING OBJECTIONS TO EXEMPTIONS TO SET NETS TO ENCIRCLE FISH
We remain very opposed to the continuing exemption to slow speed zones for commercial fishermen to set nets to encircle fish. The exemption is outdated and refers to an era when gillnets were hundreds of yards long. Today, the maximum size for legal seine nets is 500 square feet and nets are not allowed to be connected or tied together in any way. In reality what can be encircled with one 500 sq. ft. net? Furthermore, the federal zones have been in place for more than a year and the federal regulations do not allow any exemptions. The proposed FWC exemptions for commercial net setting are unnecessary, unwarranted and bad public policy.
3. FEDERAL ZONES COMPLICATE BUT DO NOT PREVENT FWC CHANGES
Some have argued that the Commission can not, or should not, adopt zones that are different from the federal zones. We strongly disagree. The Commission should adopt what it believes is the correct balance between manatee protection and boater access. If the Commission chooses to adopt less, or more, restrictions in a particular area the USFWS has the option to modify their zone or leave theirs as is. However, unless the Commission adopts something different the feds will not make any changes.
4. NO DECREASE IN MANATEE PROTECTION
We believe our recommendations will not increase risks to manatees and that the analysis of the existing data supports that assertion. We respectfully urge the Commission to adopt our recommendations.
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