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I've gone on manatee tours with a few different operators and have found Bird's Underwater and Sunshine River Tours to be the most respectful and conscientious about following the rules for interacting with manatees. American Pro not is not only disrespectful of the rules, but they are rude to other tour operators and to the customers of other operators. I have been physically pushed out of the way by an American Pro captain. I have never seen another tour operator allow any customers to harrass manatees. The biggest problem, besides American Pro, are the rental boats as well as many of the privately owned boats who's interactions are not monitored and who do not obey the posted speed limits. Tour operators do a great job educating the public and are also helpful in monitoring manatees for injuries which they then report to Fish and Wildlife.
Speeding boats are the cause of the majority of manatee fatalities and that is what should be addressed first.
There are certain special interest groups that would like to have a "no touch" rule and their motives are strictly financial and not altruistic as they would have everyone believe.
The reputable tour companies do much more good and really no harm. If they go out of business, I believe it will be to the detriment of the manatees survival for out of sight is out of mind!
Welcome to Scubaboard camelgirl. You will find this community of divers to be welcoming and a deep source for information.
It is a bold statement to say that the motivation for wanting a no-touch rule by some eco-friendly operators and groups is strictly financial. The only place in Florida where it is legal to touch manatees is Citrus County where Crystal River and Kings Bay are. I would say the real economic incentive, and those who really benefit, is represented in this exception to the rule and not the other way around. I don't believe that the operators will go out of business just because their customers are taught that they are viewing a wild animal and that the habituation of wild animals is detrimental to their survival.
Here is a spreadsheet I found on one of the kayak companies website. It is a breakdown of several agencies, governments, organizations, and groups. Within each one is a link to their wildlife viewing guidelines. None of them support touching or petting a wild animal. Please take some time to look at it.
You are correct that the rental boats are also an issue and that there needs to be better controls there to deal with that. However, the number of people in the water from tour operations far exceeds those from the rental boats. I believe the best chance for immediate change is for a change in the approach the swim-with operators take when putting people in the water. And as I have said before, we, as informed consumers, can help to encourage and foster positive change by making eco-friendly choices.
I think we have an opportunity for a win-win here. I don't want the manatee out of mind any more than you do.
I am astonished and disgusted by the treatment of these manatees! How sad... It is pathetic that FW has to be there to "see" it, even though there is video evidence of this mistreatment. I will be contacting the persons listed on this thread. Has there been any media coverage, yet?
I will also say that I am extremely thrilled to see so many people get on board with this issue.
As I have said in the past, what reason would a guide, who has touched a manatee many times, have for touching one now?
I'm not arguing for or against anything here, and I recently went to a dive club meeting where they were talking about manatees and they also said that Birds was one of the least intrusive of the boat operators over there as well... also heard bad things about AMPRO.
Anyways, I pet my dog all the time, doesn't mean I don't want to pet her the next day. When I had a cat, I wanted to pet her all the time too, even if she didn't want to be pet sometimes. I don't see why it seems wrong for someone who has petted a manatee many times to want to do it again. Of course, I'm saying this not in reference to one who holds a manatee down or anything.
It seems there are two trains of thought on manatee interaction.
One says you never touch a manatee, period.
The other says manatee initiated contact is okay.
As long as the abuse depicted in the video isn't taking place, I don't see the harm in manatee initiated contact. IMO, it's a far cry from the two morons in Davie, FL that were trying to snag one with a 4" treble hook, these idiots in the video trying to "surf" one, or a boat propeller slicing one up because someone didn't obey the idle speed zone. But then again, I'm not a zoolologist, marine biologist, or an expert in the field of manatee study.
In fact, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (but I did stay at a Marriott).
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Brian E-divers
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[QUOTE=deepstops;3444579]It seems there are two trains of thought on manatee interaction.
There is actually a third train of thought, currently in practice. That is to allow any contact that one can get away with, especially if there is money to be made. This is, and has been, in practice, the predominant interaction behavior in Crystal River (and Homosassa).
We all enjoy petting animals. It is pleasurable to us and usually for the animal too. However there is a great deal of difference between petting a pet and petting a wild animal. Petting wild animals turns them into pets (habituated, just like feeding and watering). This almost always ends badly for the animal. In the manatees’ case being habituated means they spend more time close to boats and humans that dislike them (there are plenty that wish them harm). It would be similar to offering your pet dog a treat for crossing a busy highway. He will enjoy every successful crossing, but you’ve done him no favors.
Guides should save any personal and legal contact with manatees for their own time. While guiding their attention should be on their clients. In reality, it is very much in their interest to train or manipulate the animals to come to swimmers and boats. Again, this is only in the interest of the business and is dangerous to the manatee. There are well-established guidelines for interacting with all wildlife. Contact is generally forbidden.
If you wish to help wild animals it is important to allow them to be wild.
“Those who wish to pet and baby wild animals "love" them. But those who respect their natures and wish to let them live normal lives, love them more.”
(Edwin Way Teale)
This member has said "Thank you." to hilishadjo for this useful post:
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