November is manatee awareness month, and our local newspaper, the Citrus County Chronicle ran an excellent opinion page article. The full column is here..
Among the very good advice, the editorial board, reminded everyone that “Swimmers should keep hands off the creatures. The policy is “look, but don’t touch.”
Surprisingly, (not really) Capt Mike posted the following rebuttal.
“Opinion Not Rule of Best Practices Parts of this article is opinion not rule. There were 2 manatee deaths related to cold stress in Crystal River this past record cold winter. Over 700 that visited survived. The tourists swimming with manatees that visited last winter did not scare manatees out of their warm water sanctuaries. As far as the the look but don’t touch policy “OPINION” You can find the same opinion on the Save the Manatee website. They have no authority in our area or anywhere in Florida. Again that is their “OPINION” and obviously the “OPINION of the Chronicle.
Captain Mike 10/29/2010″
What Capt Mike, in his SMC obsessive state, fails to mention is that the No Touch guideline is also the “opinion” of the USFWS, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Marine Mammal Commission, all of which do have authority here.
The loophole that Mike and others exploit is that the agencies issue guidelines (what he calls opinions) on what they would like you to do for the health and well being of manatees, but are limited as to what they can force you do to through rule. So Mike is saying that he knows more than the agencies wildlife biologists when it comes to what’s good for manatees and unless they are willing to cost him money by writing him a ticket, he’ll continue to do what he damn well pleases.
I’ve recently received the following e-mail as a forward and I’d like to respond to the inaccuracies. I guess you’d call me one of those extremists. I’ve inserted my comments in bold.
“From: capparrot
Date: 11/7/2010 6:49:59 PM
To: ————————–
Subject: Swimming with manatees
Hello all,
pardon the interruption but this issue has come to light in view of the recent Citrus Chronicle article. Please forward this email to everybody and anybody who has a genuine interest in seeing this activity continue in this county in a responsible manner. I look forward to a lively discussion & please let your opinions be known to your elected officials. The activity which makes this area a unique visitor destination is in serious jeopardy. There are good ways to manage manatee swim interactions without curtailing an activity that accounts for easily half of this area’s economy.” [No one is talking about halting/curtailing swim programs except the swim tour operators. Abiding by the "No touch" recommendation of USFWS, FWCC, Watchable Wildlife, etc. is an accepted practice almost everywhere but Citrus County. Any loss of visitors due to a no touch policy would easily be offset my those who now avoid the area because of a petting zoo atmosphere perpetuated by some of the tour operators.] ” No one is more committed to managing a symbiotic relationship between conservation, education & tourism interests than me. Often I have been criticized by extremists on both sides of this issue for suggestions that some fee l are too restricting of our industry while others feel are not restrictive enough. However you may feel about this, it is essential that your voice be heard because we are truly at a cross roads.” [One could only hope.]
God bless & good luck to us all
Mike
Michael Birns
U.S.C.G. 100 ton Near Coastal Master
5260 S. Rhoda Pt.
Homosassa, FL U.S.A. 34446
(352) 697-3137
capparrot@aol.com
Begin forwarded message:
From: capparrot
Subject: Lessons from the River
Date: November 3, 2010 6:22:56 PM EDT
To: jamcbriar@yahoo.com, jsepter@tampabay.rr.com, wilmshurstm@yahoo.com, laurigist@yahoo.com
Today’s Lesson From the River: Do the Right Thing
We all want to do the right thing. As it applies to my vocation, that means being as sensitive to the manatees as possible. A recent article in the Citrus County Chronicle advocates a “no touch” policy as a “best practice. The knee jerk response to this is that it sounds great, but will this be effective? What are the real consequences? Here are the facts: Citrus County has the largest, healthiest population of manatees in the state and has had since the mid 80’s (Jim Valade State Biologist).” [Better check with Jim on that. Think you heard him wrong. Truth is Citrus County's manatee population is smaller than any other except for Blue Springs on the St. John's River.] “We have had the second fastest rate of population for over a decade and if the current trend continues we will need to do something to increase the food supply for them.” [That growth rate has dropped from an estimated 7% down to 3+%. (FWCC data) While still better than no growth or negative growth, it' still a downward trend and of concern.] ” You would think that with these type of numbers we would have a correspondingly high mortality rate but in fact we’re eighth lowest in the state.” [When you correct that statistic for population density, Citrus actually consistently finished as one of the 5 worst for boat and perinatal mortality.] “Last winter’s cold snap & the BP oil spill may hit their population hard this year, I hope not. The fact is that this is the only place people are allowed to swim with manatees and if I thought for a moment that this activity was detrimental to their population I wouldn’t be involved in this industry. About one in three manatees will approach a swimmer seeking interaction. There are people who want to prevent us from conducting manatee interactions. When I ask the “no touch” camp what I’m supposed to do when the manatees approach us and seek interaction, I’m told that I should have my people back away from them or exit the water.” [If by "no touch" camp, you mean the Marine Mammal Commission, you are correct. If you'd listen to what the rest of us are saying, it simply means floating passively with hands off. Watch this short clip. Ist half good, 2nd part not so much. It clearly demonstrates passive observation vs petting zoo behavior. See Video here] “The current guidelines are sufficient if there is proper enforcement and a willingness to impose stiff fines. Manatee swim interaction is one of the main things about this area that makes it a unique destination for visitors. Our company exceeds USFWS guidelines [Except that one about Observing from a Distance.] and here is our swim policy in brief:”
(1) All interaction must occur on the surface of the water, you may not dive down for any reason all swimmers will use the provided floatation.
(2) All interaction must be the manatee’s idea, you may not chase or pursue the manatee for any reason. To this end we discourage the use of fins around the manatees. Stop all activity one human body length away from the manatee (6-8ft as most people estimate it) and allow the manatee to approach you.
(3) No one is ever guaranteed to touch a manatee, but IF you are lucky enough to have the manatee approach you, then and only then may you touch the manatee with one open hand while lying prone on the surface so that there isn’t even the appearance of trying ride,hold, restrict or restrain the manatee.
Finally, if we are really serious about improving a really good conservation record in this county the following steps should be taken:
(1) Make King’s Bay slow speed year round.
(2) Increase the size of several sanctuary areas, especially three sisters
(3) leave some sanctuaries up year round (Banana Island) so they always have a place into which they can retreat.
(4) Initiate a more comprehensive zonation management strategy so that law enforcement can maximize their limited resources.
Now I’m not saying that all my peers do a great job in the education & conservation department, most do, but those that don’t give the rest of us a bad name. Actually, it’s the visitors on rental boats that are the most problematic.
This your chance to be heard on this issue. Since I came to Citrus County four years ago I’ve been working hard to implement these and other “middle of the road” common sense solutions. At times I’ve been attacked in the press by my tour operator peers for going “too far”. Other times I’ve been attacked in the press by my peers in the environmental movement (albeit the more extreme ones) for not going far enough in restricting interactions.
The recommendations I put into writing and submitted to USFWS in 2007 are public record, I’ll make them available to anyone. Please write the USFWS, The Chronicle, and your federal and state representatives because presently only the same familiar voices are being heard at these meetings. The perception is that most of the county doesn’t care.
< /span>
–
Michael Birns
U.S.C.G. 100 ton Near Coastal Master
Emergency Medical Technician BFL 505507
Diver Medic/Hyperbaric Chamber Technician
Diving Safety Officer, American Academy of Underwate r Scientists
PADI Master SCUBA Diver Trainer 20213
IANTD Instructor/Gas Blender 2244
SSI Stress & Rescue Instructor
5260 S. Rhoda Pt.
Homosassa, FL U.S.A. 34446
(352) 697-3137
capparrot@aol.com”
END OF CORRESPONDENCE
Most of the last part, I don’t disagree with. It’s not everyone, but it’s enough to create a problem.
A little history review is in order. I’ve been involved in the issue since its inception. In recognition of the importance of manatee tourism to the area and a pragmatic view that we were dealing with some tame manatees that would approach humans, the original concept was that touching an animal that approached you first should not get you cited. Hence the deviation from the recommendation of “Observe from a Distance” . It was always envisioned to be a defensive maneuver and contact would be limited to that. Unfortunately that opened the door to more aggressive actions such as belly rubbing , scratching, and petting that are clearly not passive. Law enforcement was unable and/or unwilling to try to differentiate. Since that didn’t work, the “No Touch” recommendation surfaced as a way to alleviate that problem without, and I emphasize without stopping swim programs. It is a much simpler, clearer standard to enforce and that is what everyone in the industry should support. After attending numerous meetings and having what seems like endless correspondence with law enforcement officials, removing the gray areas and providing a clear standard is going to be the only way to insure ” … there is proper enforcement and a willingness to impose stiff fines.”
More later.
