November is Manatee Awareness Month, and for good reason. Florida manatees are on the move, seeking warm-water sites to spend the winter. That means boaters must be cautious and watch for Florida’s official marine mammal and for changing speed zones on waterways.

Manatees generally start traveling to warm water when the air temperature drops below 50 degrees or when the water temperature dips to 68 degrees. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) changes seasonal speed zone signs in mid-November on many waterways to accommodate manatee migration.

Boaters should scan the water near or in front of the boat, looking for swirls resembling a large footprint, a repetitive line of half-moon swirls, a mud trail, or a snout or fluke (tail) breaking the water’s surface. Kipp Frohlich, leader of the FWC’s Imperiled Species Management Section, said boaters can help manatees have a safe migration by staying in marked channels, wearing polarized sunglasses to improve vision, obeying posted boat speed zones, using poles, paddles or trolling motors when close to manatees, and having someone help scan the water when under way.

“If you think you see a manatee, give it plenty of room because it may not be alone,” Frohlich said. “It may have a calf or be traveling with other manatees.”

Besides slowing down and following the FWC’s recommendations, residents can help manatees survive by purchasing the manatee specialty license plate. The funds collected for these plates go directly into manatee research and conservation.

For more information about manatees, visit MyFWC.com/Manatee. To report a dead or distressed manatee, call the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

Complete copies of individual county waterway rules are available at www.flrules.org (type in “manatee speed zones”), by visiting MyFWC.com/Manatee and clicking on the Protection Zone maps, or by contacting the FWC at 850-922-4330.

Zone Definitions:

* Idle speed (No wake) – Lowest speed needed to maintain steering and make headway (speed used when docking a boat).
* Slow speed (No excessive wake) – Fully off plane and completely settled in the water; not plowing.
* Motorboats-prohibited zone – Entry is prohibited for any vessel being propelled or powered by machinery.
* No entry – No vessels or other human-related activities allowed.





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