by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
A spate of boating-related complaints and a record number of manatee deaths this year has prompted the Jacksonville Waterways Commission to take a closer look at the level of aquatic law enforcement in Duval County.
“We truly don’t have enough people out there to watch boaters,” said commission vice chair and City Council member Lynette Self. “There are not enough marine officers to stop the speeders.”
In 2001, there were 32,807 registered recreational vessels in Duval County that contributed to 40 reported accidents, three fatalities and 13 injuries. To help patrol the waters, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has three officers and three boats assigned to its marine unit.
“If you have that many boaters and three officers, that’s something we need to look at,” said Self.
“Woefully” and “greatly” inadequate are words commissioners use to describe the JSO’s presence on the water, which until recently was two officers strong.
“We’re all agreed that we’re totally lacking in patrol capabilities,” said Commissioner Ed Grey. “There were some complaints in the Ortega River of unsafe operation where boats were going by marinas too fast and also manatee deaths are up to 11 this year.”
Manatee safety is a powerful force when it comes to the ebb and flow of boating laws and related matters. While all 11 manatee deaths weren’t directly attributed to the jet ski and fishing boat crowd, recreational vessels receive the brunt of the impact. Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service held up permits for proposed marinas at Berkman Plaza and the Shipyards project on the St. Johns River downtown, citing manatee safety. Also, federal wildlife officials want more signs installed in the river warning boaters of manatee activity. Commissioners say they have a better way to protect the slow-moving mammals than plunging hundreds of unlighted signs into the river bottom — increased boater education and increased law enforcement.
Compared with other Florida counties, Duval county lags behind in marine law enforcement presence. In Collier County, home to Naples and 21,485 registered vessels, the marine unit has seven officers assigned — each to his or her own boat. Miami-Dade County with nearly 55,000 registered recreational boats has 14 marine patrol personnel assigned to eight boats. Tampa’s Hillsborough County has 13 officers and 12 vessels to patrol the waterways. Clay County, with 11,481 registered boats, employs one full-time officer, two part timers and five auxiliary officers.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office does have a partner patrolling the water in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, but that help has decreased recently when it had to dedicate more officers to land. Capt. Bob Donnelly said he has 11 officers assigned to Duval County with four vacancies.
“That used to be 11 on the water,” he said. “Now we may have two or three at any given time during peak hours, which are between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. On a weekend, midday, we’ll have six officers in six boats.”
Donnelly said that is not enough, citing busy areas such as the Intracoastal Waterway, the St. Johns River, Ortega River, Huguenot Park and others.
“If you name more than six places that need to be patrolled, that’s more than I have at any one time,” he said.
Even the aftermath of Sept. 11 has woven its way into the story with the Coast Guard essentially removed from the local water safety equation. While Search and Rescue is still its primary mission, it must focus its efforts on homeland security.
“The Coast Guard is almost out of local patrols as far as recreational boaters and search and rescue are concerned,” said Grey.
The Waterways Commission expects to present a bill to the City Council, urging the sheriff’s office to increase its number of police officers on the water.
“I think eight would be a starting point,” speculated Commissioner Carter Bryan, adding that the commission has not come to any conclusions yet.