Cocoa Beach wants to raise speed limit for boaters on Banana River
Cooca Beach wants FWC to revisit some ocean speed limits
The Cocoa Beach City Commission unanimously passed a proposal asking Florida wildlife officials to review local manatee speed zones to give boaters faster transit routes through some parts of the Banana River.
COCOA BEACH, Fla. - The Cocoa Beach City Commission passed a proposal asking Florida wildlife officials to review local manatee speed zones to give boaters faster transit routes through some parts of the Banana River.
Cocoa Beach wants to raise the ocean speed limit
What we know:
Cocoa Beach Mayor Keith Capizzi wants state officials to re-examine water speed limits across local waterways in his town.
Capizzi said current restrictions turn the entire city into a slow-speed preservation zone, adding at least 30 minutes to travel times for residents trying to navigate the area. He wants to identify specific channels within the ocean where boaters would be able to travel a bit faster.
Commissioners have asked the FWC to conduct a study on the potential of creating those channels and whether increasing the speed limit would impact the manatees.
What they're saying:
"We’re just asking for specific channels that are navigated more regularly be used for navigation rather than a preservation area," Capizzi said.
What we don't know:
Right now, the City Commission approved asking the FWC to conduct a study. The biggest unknown is how long it will take the FWC to review the proposal and whether they will consider conducting a study.
Advocates concerned about potential impacts on manatees
The other side:
The speed zones were put in place to help protect manatees. Animal advocates are concerned about what impact faster boats will have on the manatee.
Denise Anderson, director of Friends of Manatees, said boat strikes cause significant harm to the population, noting that manatee deaths from boat strikes have already surpassed last year's total.
"The extra few seconds that the manatee has to submerge or get out of the way can save its life from injury or death," Anderson said.
What's next:
The proposed speed changes are not finalized. Members of the public can still submit feedback on the proposed navigation channels directly to both the city of Cocoa Beach and state wildlife officials as discussions continue.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Cocoa Beach Mayor Keith Capizzi, who outlined his proposal during an interview with FOX 35, as well as Friends of Manatees Director Denise Anderson. FOX 35 reporter Esther Bower also emailed the FWC and heard back via email from officials.