FWC cites 18 boaters during 3-day manatee protection patrol in Caloosahatchee

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David Hinkel / USFWS / CC BY 2.0

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gave more than a dozen boaters citations and nearly 40 warnings for violations in manatee-inhabited waters.

According to FWC, over a three-day patrol, officers issued 18 citations and 37 warnings to boaters traveling in a manatee protection zone on the Caloosahatchee River.

manatee
FILE: Manatees swimming as a group. (Credit: WINK News/FILE)

The area around the Orange River entrance is an idle speed/no wake zone between Nov. 15 and March 31 every year in an effort to protect manatees. That’s because manatees use the area during migration to stay in warmer waters.

All of the boaters stopped during the patrol were violating the manatee protection zone.

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