Save the Manatees: Boat Compliance

In efforts to protect the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), slow speed/minimum wake zones were placed in manatee sensitive waters of Duval County, FL. This research uses boat compliance data collected during the Summer and Fall of 2020. The purpose of this study is to see if the boats are in compliance with the manatee zones. Data was obtained from six different vessel compliance sites in Duval County, FL. Data was collected at the sites for 4 hours each. Observing the boats and making sure that they were in compliance with the manatee zones. Data was entered in an excel spreadsheet and mapped using ArcGIS Pro software. The hypothesis is there are more non-compliant boats in the morning than the evening due to the increase number of boaters in the morning hours.