Manatee Abuse and Harassment Caught on Tape

[Oceanus]

Ron,

Enough of the BS... if you want to stay in business I suggest you clean up, fast

is that the FWC calling... how much are those fines and sentences? it's a felony, isn't it?

[cdreamer]

Ron,
The behavior of your guides is inexcusable and your explanation is extremely lame.
Are we watching the same video? I think that you will need to do better than that.
As a manager of a dive shop, I have already started telling customers to not use your
operation and will continue to do so.

[123Scuba.com]

Laura it would be wonderful if you could show this to every class you have and ask some of your fellow instructors to do the same.

It is simply tragic human beings can be so cruel!

Between my own classes and the other courses I host here for ANDI I will definately continue to share this.

[fisheyeview]

I have heard better BS explanations from Miami City Council members under indictment.

[speargirl]

Well I just got back from the Keys Marine Laboratory they watched the video's along with some of the students from FSU. They could not believe that this is going on, they did say that it would be in the best interest to make sure that the boats name was very clear so that they could target the owner of the operation. They did however give me all the numbers that they thought would best suit that area and could investagate into what is going on. Here are the numbers everyone can call.

News Media for Manatees:
Habitate and Species Covservation Tallahassee: Beth Scott 850-251-3970
Law Enforcement Tallahassee: Carol Pratt 850-251-2212

************************************************** ******
Capt. John Burton Commander for the Crystal River FWC: 1-888-404-3922
James Kraus Refuge Manager for Crystal River: 1-352-563-2088
************************************************** ******
North Central Office:
Karen Parker FWC: 386-758-0525
Chuck Underwood FWS: 904-232-2580 Ext. 109
************************************************** ******
I was told that if there is enough calls made to these people that they are sure to do something about it. But if only a few calls come in they seem to put it on the next meeting (agenda) to discuss.

The Marine Lab did make a call today to Tallahassee in order to get the ball rolling for the manatees which I thought was outstanding even though they said they could not tell who it was but they knew the area where the video was taken and went with that.

I hope everyone will call and stop these people from hurting the manatees.

As a final note the students were so upset when they heard the calf cry out for his mother while the men kept him at bay. The tension in that room was really bad this morning. As one young student had tears in her eyes, that is when they said they would make the calls to FWC and Tallahassee and the tension was like released from all the students which made me feel like I had did my small part. But I too plan to call to make sure that I personally have done my part to help these Manatees..........
Becky

[medical1]

I work with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Mote Marine Aquarium & am on the Mammal Stranding First Responder Team. I also lead manatee trips in the Crystal River. This video is so disturbing that I personally contacted the FWC & provided a link to the video. If no one takes action it is the same as condoning this harassment :no The response from the FWC Inspector General is below.
PS: Sent a copy of what I sent Chip to American Pro Dive - No reply from them! Maybe they will reply to the FWC.

"Michael,
Thank you for sending this information to our office. We will be forwarding it to our Division of Law Enforcement for review.

Captain Chip Leavine
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Office of Inspector General
620 South Meridian Street
Tallahassee, Fl 32399-1600
Telephone: (850) 488-6068
Sun (Com): (850) 278-6068
Fax: (850) 488-6414
chip.leavine@MyFWC.com"

[spt29970]

Sadly this behavior on the part of American Pro is not a one-off lack of judgment, but part of a long term pattern. I had a similar run in with them a couple of years ago. I wrote about it on Wetpixel. The archived thread can be found at Manatee Snorkeling and diving etiquette - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

[archman]

Yeah, throwing the book at "the people who got caught" isn't really a long term solution.

Politicians need to get involved. There appears to be a fundamental problem with law enforcement and public education in the area. Probably linked to loss or diversion of adequate funding. Wildlife conservation funding has been steadily stripped from the feds for several years now, I wouldn't be surprised if Florida is doing the same.

Send copies of these videos to your local mayor(s) and both state and federal congressmen. Along with a signed petition demanding enforcement of existing laws. The latter can easily be facilitated through responsible public meeting places like an eco-tour outfitter. Just have a copy of the videos running in some corner and stick some informational brochures and the petition on a nearby table.

You can also go through a third-party NGO intermediary like WWF. They're already set up for lobbying policymakers, and are pretty darn good at it. They're automated email letter writing campaigns are super efficient.

[medical1]

Banning swimming with the manatees is NOT the answer. Everyone we take on a manatee encounter MUST watch a Manatee awareness video & follow the rules.

In Florida it is illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, annoy or molest manatees. Anyone convicted of violating state law faces maximum fines of $500 and or imprisonment of up to 60 days. Conviction for violating federal protection laws is punishable by fines up to $10,000 and or one year in prison.

[speargirl]

I really think if they had a FWC officer on site this would not be a really big problem. The fine should be very strong. There should be signs on the water ways stating that fines are enforced by FWC with the $ amount. If some steep tickets are given out the word will get out real fast. Make examples out of the stupid people and they will whine about it for a long time to everyone they know and the word will spread.
When it is under control than FWC can be in there a few days a week instead of 7 which will cut the cost for them. I think if people were getting fines of $10,000 a pop that it would stop really fast. As it looks in the video they could have made alot of money just in that one day. They could have fined the Captain,Crew, and the owner of the boat. Not counting all the adults that were in the water who watched the video who knew better.

Better yet if the FWC had steep fines of 10,000 they could afford to keep an officer on the water 7 days a week. One on the boat one in the water.