Florida FWC to Improve Boating Safety in Volusia County, Manatee Protection in Flagler County
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will begin work this month to install waterway markers for a new boating safety zone at Highbridge Road in Volusia County.
The zone requires that boats operate at “slow speed, minimum wake,” meaning that boats are fully off-plane, completely settled in the water and making little or no wake.
“We want to slow down vessel traffic in areas where public safety is a concern,” said Capt. Chris Roszkowiak of FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement. “Clearly marked zones keep everyone informed to increase safety.
“Officers will begin by educating boaters on the new zones,” Roszkowiak said.
Work beginning this month also includes installing waterway markers for new seasonal manatee protection zones in Flagler County. Those zones are in effect from May 1 through Sept. 7 each year.
Crews will also be conducting needed maintenance and repairs to the markers in Flagler County at the State Road 100 Bridge in Flagler Beach.
The FWC worked with stakeholders in 2011 before voting in February 2012 to amend Florida Administrative Code Rule 68D-24.164, reducing vessel speed limits in the Intracoastal Waterway surrounding Highbridge Road Bridge in Ormond Beach. The manatee protection zones were approved by the FWC at its May 2012 meeting in Crystal River.
Boaters should use caution around construction crews installing the new markers. The construction is anticipated to conclude mid-March.
For more information, visit MyFWC.com/Boating.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission came into existence on July 1, 1999 - the result of a constitutional amendment approved in the 1998 General Election as part of the package proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission.
In the implementation of the Constitutional Amendment, the Florida Legislature combined all of the staff and Commissioners of the former Marine Fisheries Commission, elements of the Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
Five years later, after consulting stakeholders, employees and other interested parties, the FWC adopted a new internal structure to address complex conservation issues of the new century. The new structure focuses on programs, such as habitat management, that affect numerous species. It will focus on moving the decision-making process closer to the public and did not require any additional funding or additional positions.
