Law enforcement agencies aren't the only ones keeping track of boaters' speed on Suncoast waterways.
Mote Marine Laboratory is also using laser speed guns to collect data on boaters' habits as part of its two-month-old Sea Turtle Protection Zone initiative.
Sea turtles are an endangered species found year-round in Southwest Florida waters. During nesting season, sea turtles spend more time closer to the surface and close to their nesting beaches. With more turtles near the surface, there’s a greater chance of being hit by a boat.
Mote scientists have documented boat-strike hotspots along the Suncoast and created the voluntary Sea Turtle Protection Zone, which stretches from Longboat Key to Siesta Key, including Sarasota Bay.
The zone was created in 2021 through a partnership between the Loggerhead Marinelife Center and the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida. The project is also funded by the Disney Conservation Fund and money collected from the sale of the state's sea turtle license plate.
“The area extends pretty much from the 10th Street boat ramp down to the north Siesta Key Bridge," expanding about a mile offshore, said Gretchen Lovewell, stranding investigations program manager at Mote Marine Laboratory.
"It's a voluntary zone where we're asking people to just slow down and be on the lookout for sea turtles."
Mote says since the 1980s, boat collisions with sea turtles have tripled in Florida. Lovewell says this year has been particularly hard on the sea turtle population. "This year, June, July and August, were really high numbers for us. We've already had over 30 turtles ... this year that we've recovered that have been hit by boats," most of them in the new protection zone.
And 90% of sea turtle strikes are fatal, according to Valerie Nicole Tovar, conservation manager at the Loggerhead Marinelife Center.
“Our goal ... is to increase boater awareness and enlist boater voluntary compliance to decrease sea turtle injuries and deaths by creating a united front with our local boating communities," Tovar said in a recent news release. A similar zone has also been established in Palm Beach County, she said.
Lovewell says while numbers rise during nesting season, generally from May to October, it is a year-round problem. "They're here year-round because we are recovering them year-round," she said. "Which is part of why we're asking for this voluntary zone to occur year-round."
Lovewell says their data collection is just beginning, with a speed gun that uses a laser to measure a boat's speed. "We try to go out once a week. We have a Lidar (Light detection and ranging) gun just like the police officers have."
She says her team has seen some boaters seemingly unconcerned about what they may hit. "We've recorded some boats going over 60 miles an hour coming through Big Pass."
Lovewell added local law enforcement are on board with the protection zone "All of our local law enforcement are very much near and dear partners to us," she said.
According to Mote, hot spots for sea turtle strikes include Longboat Pass, New Pass, Big Pass, Siesta Key, Venice Inlet, and offshore two miles north of New Pass to two miles south of Big Pass extending out one and a half miles.
To report distressed, injured or deceased sea turtles, manatees, dolphins or whales in the Sarasota/Manatee area call our strandings hotline at 888-345-2335. For locations elsewhere in Florida, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: 888-404-3922.
Boaters can do their part by following this advice:
- Go slow: Follow Coast Guard-approved safe boating guidelines. Go as slow as safely possible in areas bounded by red lines — the voluntary Sea Turtle Protection Zone — and limit your travel time in these areas. Follow any posted speed-zone signs — it’s required by law.
- Wear polarized sunglasses to see and avoid sea turtles in your path, and ask one of your passengers to be the designated wildlife spotter.
- Report stranded sea turtles (as well as stranded marine mammals) in Sarasota and Manatee counties to Mote at 888-345-2335. Elsewhere in Florida, contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: 888-404-3922.
- Stow trash: Be sure to stow trash and line when under way. Marine debris that accidentally blows overboard or out of a vehicle can become ingested by or entangled around marine life.
- Keep the water trash free: Never discard trash in the water.
Jim DeLa is a reporter for the Community News Collaborative. Reach him at jdela@cncfl.org
