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Quantitative Assessment of Boater Compliance in Manatee Conservation Zones: An Examination of Predictors
John S Jett
(University of Florida, Recreation, Parks and Tourism, USA)
John Confer (california university of pennsylvania, Earth Sciences)
Presented in:
Where the Wild Things Are: Human-Wildlife Interactions
Monday June 18th at 8:30 am - 10:00 am, Room: Prospector Coalition III
This session has been flagged to be relevant to managers by the author.
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In Florida, the endangered West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is negatively impacted by a variety of natural and anthropogenic factors. To facilitate recovery of the species, the Federal Manatee Recovery Plan (FMRP) specifically focuses on reducing watercraft-induced mortality through boat speed regulatory zones, educational programming, and other interventional modalities. Still, watercraft-strikes remain the single greatest cause of mortality, with 25-30% of manatee deaths caused by propeller wounds or hull impacting (FWC, 2006).
Several qualitative wake propagation studies have demonstrated that fewer than 50-60% of Florida’s boaters fully comply with established speed restrictions (e.g., Gorzelany, 1996, 2001, 2004; Tyson & Combs, 1999). These qualitative investigations have shown vessel compliance within manatee conservation zones to vary by vessel type, vessel length and zone location, although the site-specific nature of issue has resulted in inconsistent findings.
This study relied on discreet observation to determine vessel distance from the observer, and the elapsed time spent cruising through a defined area. Trigonometric calculation was then employed to determine vessel speeds within manatee conservation zones. To better understand operator non-compliance, the research utilized hull registration numbers from observed vessels to facilitate a follow up mail survey.
Fewer than half of those observed fully complied with manatee zone speed restrictions (45%), and poor congruency was found between observed compliance behavior and self-reported compliance as assessed by the mail survey (r = .024). Observed vessel speeds (hence compliance) varied by length and site (slow or idle speed zone). Only 19% of respondents reported having been ticketed in the past for speed violations, and ticketing history made no difference in observed compliance behavior. Additionally, fewer than 60% of boaters agreed that on-water manatee speed zone signage was well marked and easy to read. The presentation offers an exploration of the observational techniques utilized to ascertain vessel speeds, as well as a discussion of the associations between boat and boater attributes, and vessel compliance within manatee conservation zones.
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