Fat A$$ Manattees
11-15-2002, 08:17 AM
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Fat A$$ Manattees
Check out this article:
Two Blue Waters no-entry boundaries offer Manatees safe
11/15/02
Terry Witt
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Reactions were mixed Thursday as state biologists marked with buoys the boundaries of two manatee protection areas in the Blue Waters of the Homosassa River. The no-entry areas were scheduled to open today, effectively reducing the space that dive boats and swimmers use to view and swim with manatees during the winter months. Kipp Frohlich, biological administrator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, estimated the additional no-entry areas cover about two acres of the Blue Waters. The space between the new sanctuaries amounts to about five acres, he said. Frohlich said the Blue Waters has become such a popular manatee-watching area that additional no-entry zones were needed. “It gives the manatees a place to rest if they choose to,” he said. “If they want to swim behind the buoys rather than be scratched or petted, they can do that.” Frohlich said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has overlaid federal sanctuary status on the state’s no-entry zones. That means state and federal officers can enforce the zones, which are open through March 31. Janet Luchese, a member of Manatee Watch, a volunteer group that patrols the Blue Waters in canoes and kayaks, breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the buoys being installed. “Last year, the day after Thanksgiving, there were 23 boats in the Blue Waters, and two manatees,” she said. “The boats were around the manatees. I asked them to back off. They wouldn’t, so I took down tag numbers and called law enforcement.” Ron Goodenow, owner of American Pro Diving Center, a business that caters to people who snorkel with manatees, said he hasn’t seen the new sanctuary boundaries and is not sure how they will impact recreational users. He said people who rent boats and travel to the Blue Waters are often less experienced than the professional tour boat captains, and he worries they may not be able to maneuver in the reduced space caused by the new sanctuaries. “With the season coming on us in the next few days, we’ll see how well the sanctuaries work out,” he said. “I’m hoping the people who rent boats don’t get hurt.”
I would love to find that ho Janet Luchesse out there on her kayak.
Two Blue Waters no-entry boundaries offer Manatees safe
11/15/02
Terry Witt
Respond to this story
Email this story to a friend
Reactions were mixed Thursday as state biologists marked with buoys the boundaries of two manatee protection areas in the Blue Waters of the Homosassa River. The no-entry areas were scheduled to open today, effectively reducing the space that dive boats and swimmers use to view and swim with manatees during the winter months. Kipp Frohlich, biological administrator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, estimated the additional no-entry areas cover about two acres of the Blue Waters. The space between the new sanctuaries amounts to about five acres, he said. Frohlich said the Blue Waters has become such a popular manatee-watching area that additional no-entry zones were needed. “It gives the manatees a place to rest if they choose to,” he said. “If they want to swim behind the buoys rather than be scratched or petted, they can do that.” Frohlich said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has overlaid federal sanctuary status on the state’s no-entry zones. That means state and federal officers can enforce the zones, which are open through March 31. Janet Luchese, a member of Manatee Watch, a volunteer group that patrols the Blue Waters in canoes and kayaks, breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the buoys being installed. “Last year, the day after Thanksgiving, there were 23 boats in the Blue Waters, and two manatees,” she said. “The boats were around the manatees. I asked them to back off. They wouldn’t, so I took down tag numbers and called law enforcement.” Ron Goodenow, owner of American Pro Diving Center, a business that caters to people who snorkel with manatees, said he hasn’t seen the new sanctuary boundaries and is not sure how they will impact recreational users. He said people who rent boats and travel to the Blue Waters are often less experienced than the professional tour boat captains, and he worries they may not be able to maneuver in the reduced space caused by the new sanctuaries. “With the season coming on us in the next few days, we’ll see how well the sanctuaries work out,” he said. “I’m hoping the people who rent boats don’t get hurt.”
I would love to find that ho Janet Luchesse out there on her kayak.
11-15-2002, 08:33 AM
#2
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OUR tax dollars hard @ work here also!
Question:
If the Manatee is SOOO endangered, why does the state ALLOW people to swim with them? It would seem that this Human/Manatee interaction would teach the Manatee that man is nothing to be afraid of? YET, the $MC spouts that MAN is the Manatees No. 1 Enemy. It would seem to me that a better way to help the Manatee AVOID it's #1 enemy, would be to NOT Re-enforce this type of interaction?!
Don't get me wrong, I think we humans have a right to use/swim in the Blue water springs, it's just another example of the $MC, USFWS, and FFWCC CONFLICTING, UNSCIENTIIFIC approach to Manatee protection.
And if you caught out in the open waterways swimming w/ Manatees, it can be considered, HARASSMENT, which is a possible $5000.00 fine and 1 year in jail!!
Go figure!
MD
Question:
If the Manatee is SOOO endangered, why does the state ALLOW people to swim with them? It would seem that this Human/Manatee interaction would teach the Manatee that man is nothing to be afraid of? YET, the $MC spouts that MAN is the Manatees No. 1 Enemy. It would seem to me that a better way to help the Manatee AVOID it's #1 enemy, would be to NOT Re-enforce this type of interaction?!
Don't get me wrong, I think we humans have a right to use/swim in the Blue water springs, it's just another example of the $MC, USFWS, and FFWCC CONFLICTING, UNSCIENTIIFIC approach to Manatee protection.
And if you caught out in the open waterways swimming w/ Manatees, it can be considered, HARASSMENT, which is a possible $5000.00 fine and 1 year in jail!!
Go figure!
MD
11-15-2002, 09:08 AM
#3
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Fukkin hipocrits!
Years ago, at Blue Springs(I used to Live in Deltona), if there were manatees present, people were forced to get out of the water and leave them alone....What happened to that?
Now it's okay to "molest" as defined by the latest proposal...WTF?
Years ago, at Blue Springs(I used to Live in Deltona), if there were manatees present, people were forced to get out of the water and leave them alone....What happened to that?
Now it's okay to "molest" as defined by the latest proposal...WTF?
11-15-2002, 09:27 AM
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That is what is happening here now. The no entry zones are set up so you can not even swim inside them. It is completely off limits, which is a bunch of crap. They already had a large no entry at the entance to the Homosassa Wildlife Park. This is an expansion.
