SARASOTA – While many will be out on the water over the holiday weekend, it is important to be mindful of our marine life on the Suncoast.
“Dolphins, Manatees, and Sea turtles in our area are all protected species so you need to stay at least 50 yards away by law,” said Stranding Investigations Program Manager at Mote, Gretchen Lovewell.
Sarasota’s resident dolphin and sea turtle population have taken a serious hit this year and suffered from severe boat strikes and deadly entanglements involving fishing lines. Mote Marine Laboratory says just in the last two weeks, three resident dolphins have died due to human-related interaction.
“Always looking and being aware because it’s their home, we are guests in their home and we want to respect that,” said Lovewell.
Lovewell says there are many ways to watch these animals from a distance, responsibly.
“Obeying the slow speed zones, giving them space, a lot of times if you go into neutral and you give them some space, it gives you an opportunity to see them do natural behaviors because we’re not interfering with their behaviors, you never want to feed them, if they approach, you please, please, please don’t feed them it can be bad for the animals and it could be bad for people,” said Lovewell.
Florida Fish and Wildlife is encouraging boaters to keep a 360-degree awareness
“Make sure you are looking and listening around you at all times if you have the opportunity to wear polarized sunglasses that can help a lot with the glare you can see into the water so if you happen to come across some dolphin or manatees or something along those lines you can avoid them and you can safely get out of the way,” said Florida Fish and Wildlife PIO, Adam Brown.
And if you are fishing, and see a dolphin you should reel in your line.
“Try to avoid that chance encounter, reel in those lines give the dolphin a chance to move on to its next location, or if it just decides to eat in that area maybe you just pull up anchor and try and fish somewhere else,” said Brown.
Remember if you see an injured, entangled, or beached animal do not attempt to assist it. Please call a trained responder immediately.
You can contact Florida Fish and Wildlife at 888-404-3922.