Signs pop up in Collier County neighborhood to save dolphins, ban large boats

There is an initiative in a Collier County community to ban large boats to save dolphins.

It’s hard not to smile when you see a dolphin, and people who spend a lot of time on the water see a lot of them here in Southwest Florida.

They are playful and love to chase the wakes. It’s why most people get upset when they see one impaled or dead.

“I’ve been doing this 26 years. People just naturally love dolphins,” said Captain Joe Lafave, with Sand Dollar Shelling Tours.

That’s why Lafave said the signs that have popped up in one community are a bit of a head-scratcher. The sign saying ‘save the Naples dolphins, ban large tour boats’ recently showed up in the Lakes Park neighborhood.

“Well my thought was it refers to commercial boats and in my mind, after 51 years of living in Naples the commercial boats are the ones that do pay attention to the wildlife,” said Paula Terry, who lives in the Lakes Park neighborhood.

Terry said she doesn’t know who put up the signs and clearly doesn’t believe large boats are a problem for dolphins.

“We make our money off of dolphins. Nobody’s harming any dolphins at all,” said Lafave. “You can try to hit a dolphin but it’s not going to happen. Dolphins are too fast. If you ever see a dolphin that’s impaled or something that’s usually some local kids or something like that.”

There’s no recent trend of big boats hitting or hurting or killing dolphins, so if the sign was meant to make a change, that’s probably not going to happen.

WINK News asked the mayor of Naples whether she knew about the signs, she didn’t but will look into it.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says if you see a dolphin in the water try to stay at least 50 yards away if you can, and always follow the speed limit.