6 Manatee Zone Rules Florida Boaters Face Starting Nov. 15
Nov. 15 is 11 days away, and that’s when seasonal manatee zones start in parts of Florida.
A channel you cruise all summer might call for a much slower speed come winter.
Here are the manatee zone rules Florida boaters face starting Nov. 15, and what happens if you break them.
Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Boating rules and manatee zone boundaries are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with FWC.
1. Idle Speed in the Channel
Starting Nov. 15, state rules require you to hold the marked Okeechobee Waterway channel on the Caloosahatchee River in Lee County, between the Beautiful Island railroad trestle and Thompson Cutoff, to Idle Speed until March 31.
Before then, that stretch of the Caloosahatchee River, between the Beautiful Island railroad trestle and Thompson Cutoff, allows 25 mph from April 1.
Port Everglades has a smaller version, a 6,000-foot idle-speed stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway that’s in effect Nov. 15 through March 31.
It runs from the south end of Berth 25 to about the midpoint of Berth 31.
It’s the only idle-speed zone along Broward County’s 28-mile stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway.
2. Slow Speed Into April
The marked Intracoastal Waterway channel between the Broad Causeway and the Venetian Causeway in Miami-Dade County is a Slow Speed zone from Nov. 15 through April 30.
That gives you more than five months at Slow Speed.
Citrus County follows the same calendar at the Florida Power Corporation effluent canal area, which includes part of Crystal Bay.
Boats can run 25 mph there after April 30.
Idle Speed vs. Slow Speed in Manatee Zones
Manatee zone rules define Idle Speed as no faster than the speed that keeps your boat steering and moving forward.
They define Slow Speed differently, as a boat that’s fully off plane and settled into the water.
A boat that’s coming up on plane or coming off it isn’t at Slow Speed yet.
A wake that endangers other boats or people using the waterway also means you’re not at Slow Speed.
3. No Entry Zones
The discharge canal at the Tampa Electric Big Bend station in Apollo Beach is a No Entry zone in Hillsborough County from Nov. 15 through March 31.
At the Tice Power Plant in Lee County, both the discharge canal and the intake canal are No Entry on the same dates.
FWC says manatees move into springs, power plant discharge areas and other warm-water areas as temperatures drop.
In Miami-Dade County, the Biscayne Canal, Little River and Coral Gables Canal areas are No Entry from Nov. 15 through April 30.
If your route runs through any of these canals, you’ll need another way around.
4. Motorboats Prohibited Zones
A Motorboats Prohibited manatee zone is the same thing as a no power-driven vessels zone, according to the state’s definitions.
If your engine is running, that zone is closed to you.
Brevard County has one on the Indian River in the Delespine power plant area.
It’s in effect from Nov. 15 through March 31.
Palm Beach County’s version covers the Riviera Beach power plant area in Lake Worth.
That rule says the precise boundaries and effective period will be posted each year between Nov. 15 and March 31.
Because the boundaries are posted each year, a chart from last winter may not match.
Check the sign.
5. Speed Violation Penalties
If you exceed the Idle Speed or Slow Speed limit in a manatee zone that starts Nov. 15, you face a $100 civil penalty.
The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, section 379.2431, makes operating a vessel in excess of a posted speed limit a civil infraction rather than a crime.
6. Misdemeanor Entry Penalties
If you enter a No Entry zone or a Motorboats Prohibited zone that begins Nov. 15, you face a misdemeanor under state law.
A first conviction can mean up to 60 days in jail, a fine of $100 to $500, or both.
A second conviction within 12 months raises that to six months in jail, a fine of $250 to $1,000, or both.
If the entry shows blatant or willful action, you may instead be found guilty of harassment under section 379.2431(2)(d), which bars annoying, molesting, harassing or disturbing a manatee.
State law exempts entry that’s reasonably necessary to prevent the loss of human life or a vessel in distress.
Psst! How much do you know about manatees and boating waterways? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Manatee Waters IQ
Answer these questions on manatees and boating waterways. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Other factors being equal, a boat striking a manatee at 30 mph carries how much more force than a strike at 15 mph?
Zones That Start Earlier
Not every manatee zone waits for Nov. 15.
Volusia County's Blue Spring Run is a Motorboats Prohibited zone from Oct. 15 through April 15.
The St. Johns River from Lake Beresford to Channel Marker 67 is a Slow Speed zone on the same dates.
Kings Bay in Citrus County is Idle Speed from Sept. 1 through April 30 for the part of the bay southeast of a line that starts at the West Auld Road peninsula.
Another part of the bay is Slow Speed on the same dates.
If you boat those waters, all of these zones already apply to you before Nov. 15.
Seasonal Zones That Expire Nov. 15
For some manatee zones, Nov. 15 is the last day instead of the first.
Lee County's Slow Speed zones cover Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa, Safety Harbor at North Captiva Island and part of Pine Island Sound off Captiva Island.
If you boat those waters, the zones run from April 1 through Nov. 15.
In Hillsborough County, the Slow Speed zone north of the Courtney Campbell Causeway in Old Tampa Bay follows the same April 1 through Nov. 15 schedule.
The city of Indian Rocks Beach says its slow-speed manatee season runs annually from April 1 through Nov. 15.
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