New boating zones in Florida Bay, including poll-and-troll zones and poll-troll-idle zones,
were approved as part of Everglades National Park’s new general management plan.
The shallow-water boating zones are not physically marked yet.
ENP website image
By Willie Howard
Everglades National Park will require training for all boaters navigating park waters beginning next year.
The 1.5 million-acre park harbors some of the most remote shallow-water fishing and boating destinations in Florida, including most of Florida Bay and the Wilderness Waterway, which stretches 99 miles from Everglades City to Flamingo.
Although details are still being developed for the boater-education program, park officials say mandatory training will be required sometime in 2016 and will be available online.
Park planner Fred Herling said key goals of the boater-education program are resource protection (primarily for sea grasses), respectful boating behavior and safety.
Boater education will be free — at least at first. A boating permit fee, probably $50 to $75, is expected to be phased in. The online course will include links to nautical charts of the park’s waters.
The public will be notified of the date when mandatory education is required. For updates, check the park’s website, www.nps.gov/ever.
Boater education is part of the park’s new general management plan, approved in October.
Other key features include 140,000 acres of shallow-water zoning to protect marine habitat as well as designated zones for commercial and private airboats.
Boating zones will include poll-and-troll zones, where combustion engines can’t be used, poll-troll-idle zones and on-plane access channels.
CCA/Florida, the recreational fishing group, worked with park planners in developing the new management plan.
“We believe the general management plan strikes an appropriate balance of management measures to safeguard resources while allowing for reasonable boating and fishing access,” said Trip Aukeman, director of advocacy for CCA/Florida.
Implementing the new management plan, including boating zones, is expected to take several years and will depend on the availability of funding, park Superintendent Pedro Ramos said.
Sachs supports incentive for boat beacons
State Sen. Maria Sachs of Delray Beach will co-sponsor a bill that would give boaters a financial incentive for buying and registering satellite beacons for their vessels.
Sachs will co-sponsor Senate Bill 746, filed by state Sen. Joe Negron of Stuart, because the bill accomplishes the voluntary incentive approach discussed during a boating safety workshop Sachs organized in September at the Delray Beach Public Library, said Gladys Ferrer, a legislative assistant in Sachs’ office.
Elected officials joined representatives from law enforcement and the boating industry at the safety workshop, held in response to this summer’s extensive search for Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen — two 14-year-old boys who left Jupiter Inlet in a 19-foot boat on July 24 and never returned.
Their capsized Sea Craft boat was found in the ocean off New Smyrna Beach.
Negron worked on legislation promoting satellite beacons with Austin’s parents, who started the AustinBlu Foundation in their son’s memory to promote boating safety.
“My bill will stress education and the use of technology for increased safety,” Sachs said in an email. “The state will be offering financial incentives to encourage education and safety. This is a win-win proposition, and I urge everyone to support it.”
Rescue beacons send up a unique signal to satellites during emergencies, allowing rescuers to pinpoint the location of the boaters in distress.
Negron’s bill would offer boaters a price break of about 25 percent on the annual vessel registration fee if they prove they have a satellite beacon registered with NOAA for their boat.
Another boating safety bill (SB 644), introduced by state Sen. Jeremy Ring of Margate, would increase from 14 to 16 the minimum age to operate a personal watercraft in Florida.
Tip of the month
Take extra precautions to avoid leaving fishing line in the water, dangling from tree branches or on the ground where it can harm birds and marine animals.
Discarded fishing line has killed pelicans and other sea birds and has cut off circulation to the flippers of marine mammals, such as manatees and bottlenose dolphin.
Consider bringing an empty tennis-ball can when you go fishing.
After trimming a leader or removing old line from a reel, stuff the unwanted line into the can, replace the lid and stow it until the line can be disposed of properly.
Monofilament line can be recycled. Look for fishing line recycling bins (large, white PVC pipes) around boat ramps and fishing piers.
Berkley (a fishing equipment company) uses monofilament line scraps to make plastic products, including artificial reefs for ponds and lakes.
For details about recycling monofilament fishing line, see www.fishinglinerecycling.org.
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.
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