[shedav]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

I have a boat that I love to drive in Jacksonville. The manatees are only here spring through fall and not in the winter, yet we have so many long no wake zones in very wide parts of the river as if the manatees are in the very middle of a 3 mile wide river in the winter. Sorry, but as boater some of the strict laaws have to go, I can understand no wake where the manatee are when the manatee are, but otherwise it is just giving into environmentalists and their agenda to prevent human expansion and fun. Also there have been several boater injuries and fatalities because many manatee and no wake signs are not lit at night for some dumb reason, are we more concerned for the manatees' safety or our own?

It is opinions like yours that have caused not only the manatees to be put on the extinction list but all the other species throughout the continents as well. We as humans and the intelligent species need to learn to live in harmony and not think of it as us versus them because when you look at it that way WE as HUMANS are the biggest parasites of them all who continue to take and take and feed and destroy everything around us, Especially from quotes like "to prevent human expansion and fun". I for one dont think when you see a poor innocent, dead animal due to our negligence to be fun at all.

as far as boaters and fatalities as I said earlier....are we not the more intelligent species? Perhaps if these boaters were more careful then these fatalities would not of occurred...you are blaming the manatees..it is not their fault, they are where they are suppose to be in the water! It isnt like they woke up and said, Hey lets target some boaters today!!!!

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by shedav

It is opinions like yours that have caused not only the manatees to be put on the extinction list but all the other species throughout the continents as well. We as humans and the intelligent species need to learn to live in harmony and not think of it as us versus them because when you look at it that way WE as HUMANS are the biggest parasites of them all who continue to take and take and feed and destroy everything around us, Especially from quotes like "to prevent human expansion and fun". I for one dont think when you see a poor innocent, dead animal due to our negligence to be fun at all.

as far as boaters and fatalities as I said earlier....are we not the more intelligent species? Perhaps if these boaters were more careful then these fatalities would not of occurred...you are blaming the manatees..it is not their fault, they are where they are suppose to be in the water! It isnt like they woke up and said, Hey lets target some boaters today!!!!

Why don't they just ban boats with propellers from the manatee areas? Even when people slow down manatees still get hit. I wish humans were an endangered species in Florida.

[shedav]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Why don't they just ban boats with propellers from the manatee areas? Even when people slow down manatees still get hit. I wish humans were an endangered species in Florida.

That would take to much thought!! LOL. good point

[jsimms3]

I take it all the people who have posted on this topic and live in florida do not have a boat. if you did you wouild think differently, and i am glad that humans are not on the endangered species list. i wish illegals were on the endangered species list, that at least takes away a sizable chunk of the population right? If you could not have a propeller boat where manatees go, or in the "zones", then you would not be able to have a boat at all or go anywhere in it. I live on the water, and I choose to exercise my ability to go out on the boat whenever I damn well please because our weather is just that good (minus the summer storms and hurricanes) and to have Florida's greatest asset blocked for a species that has been on this earth for far too long is ridiculous. I thinkl the manatees are thinking, hmm, arent we the oldest species by now, I want to die and move on for Gods sake. Come on now, with our laws, nothing will ever become extinct in this country ever again. Bring your silly arguments to the third world country on preseerving nature and wildlife. Also bring your argument to the people that did not get a boater's or captain's license, and therefore do not know that there really are manatee zones. For those of us who do boat and actually live on the water and know more about manatees and their habitats and lifestyles and yearly location shifts than people who just follow exrteme environmentalists know that the situation is out of hand, and it is not even the regular good boaters out there who obey the law and respect people's property and the manatees i guess by not going 50+ mph right by docks and bulkheads. The middles of channels hardly ever have any manatees because of boat traffic and lack of food source and shade.

[sickfromredtide]

Originally Posted by Muggy

At the risk of sounding like an environmental terrorist, I am going to restrict my comments; yes it's awful.

Part of the problem is Manatees surface to breathe while sleeping, so they may not be totally aware of boats at a time when boats would have the hardest time seeing/avoiding them.

I am also going to go ahead and wager here: Manatees are mammals, so the fact that they are dying from Red Tide should be a RED FLAG that coastal development may actually (suprise!) hurt humans too.

To date - and yes, file under "Muggy Positive" - one of the most amazing experiences of my life was paddling (not propellering) with a herd of Manatee last summer in Boca Ciega bay right by the Pinellas Bayway.

I am a boater and I can honestly say, even with all of the laws the manatee some how manage to get right under the boat even when idling, its still no excuse we still all need to be carefull.
About the red tide problem, I wish the officials would do something about it except put an alert system up. I personally have lost my mother to red tide, so yes it is a problem and it does hurt humans. While living in Venice, FL I also saw many Manatees gasping for breath at Manasota Beach during the summer months. I can tell you with my research it is not a natural process like they say it is coastal development, chemicals used on the golf courses just to keep them green.

[tallrick]

A sailboat for the lakes, a rowboat to bet some excersize or a jet boat work fine and have no protruding prop. If the manatees are so important, why are all waterways in south Florida developed? I have seen them while rowing in a canal and while crossing a small lake in my buggy. One of them actually bumped our canoe and almost turned it over! You can just be floating in your boat and the manatee will go underneath it, so if your engine is running they are still in danger. It really bothers me to go in a canal with expensive homes next to it, it's just vertical walls with chemical-laden lawns. As for racing the boat, that's what the open ocean is for. Take it from the boat ramp or your dock, hit the Atlantic and run wide open! I prefer to be in the small boat getting some excercise or start the jet pump when tired out. Oh yes and the small six wheel buggy won't hurt a manatee either.

[sunrico90]

Many boat owners complied with the directives for manatee zones. The problem are the ones that don't care about the manatee or anything while they are in the water.

We can all enjoy the water-ways, but we as individuals must be more responsible to each other and to mother nature. For those that follow the policies Thank you. For the ones that don't follow, a marine patrol will get you sooner or later.

[sunrico90]

Sad news 72 dead manatees....

Red Tide is believed to be blame for the deaths of 26 manatees over the last two weeks on Florida's southwest coast. Red Tide contains a powerful toxin that kills fish and other marine life. When the manatees come up for air, they inhale the toxin at the water's surface. Across the state, there are 72 reported manatee deaths as of March 23. Algal bloom common to the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and is also called "Florida red tide". The density of these organisms during a bloom can exceed tens of millions of cells per liter of seawater, and often discolor the water a deep reddish-brown hue.

[riverviewnative]

Anyone ever think that with all the additional people moving here it is just one more thing that is being pushed out?

[dreamofmonterey]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

Sad news 72 dead manatees....

Red Tide is believed to be blame for the deaths of 26 manatees over the last two weeks on Florida's southwest coast. Red Tide contains a powerful toxin that kills fish and other marine life. When the manatees come up for air, they inhale the toxin at the water's surface. Across the state, there are 72 reported manatee deaths as of March 23. Algal bloom common to the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and is also called "Florida red tide". The density of these organisms during a bloom can exceed tens of millions of cells per liter of seawater, and often discolor the water a deep reddish-brown hue.

are they trying to remedy the situation? How does red tide affect humans? Is there any pending litigation?

sunny