TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — Tarpon Springs city leaders want to extend the time for the special exclusion zone in Spring Bayou by more than 2 months because manatees have been staying in the city longer.

What You Need To Know

  • Residents asked for extended protection because manatees stay longer in the city 

  • Mayor wants special exclusion zone updated to Nov. 1 through June 1 

  • Commissioners authorized the city manager to ask the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the extension  

  • Watercraft related collisions with manatees have been the leading cause of unnatural deaths, according to FWC

“They are here longer and longer every year,” said Mayor Costa Vatikiotis, 75. “We want to extend our time where we prohibit boats coming into the areas that they frequent.”

Currently, the special exclusion zone in Spring Bayou prohibits motorized or self-propelled vessels from Nov. 15 to March 31. Mayor Costa Vatikiotis said he wants it updated to Nov. 1 through June 1.

“We’re trying to make it as friendly as we can for the manatees,” he said. “I would say that we have probably between a half dozen to a dozen manatee at any one time.”

Vatikiotis said he recently got a letter from a local environmentalist encouraging the city to further protect manatees which have been a large tourist draw. The mayor noted Spring Bayou is listed as one of the best springs in Florida to see manatees.

“This is a special resident for us,” he said. “We’ve had manatees that have given birth in the bayou and you see a lot of thrashing going on.”

Vatikiotis grew up one block away from Spring Bayou and said when he was a child there were no manatees.

Watercraft-related collisions with manatees have been the leading cause of unnatural deaths, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Researchers found one out of every four adult carcasses bore evidence of 10 or more watercraft strikes, according to the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. It appears exceedingly rare for an adult manatee not to be struck multiple times in its life with only 4% devoid of scars.

At the June 4 commission meeting, residents spoke out publicly in favor of protecting manatees. Some wanted to go even further, suggesting the use of drones to monitor waterways and banning snag hook fishing when manatees are present.

Commissioner Michael Eisner proposed putting up signs requiring boats entering Spring Bayou to have a propeller cover which he said could protect manatees all year. Vatikiotis said he wants to provide manatees with a peaceful habitat.

“The danger of the propeller to the manatees is one thing,” he said. “The noise and the fuss and the agitation of the water and not finding a peaceful corner to sit in the bayou would be another thing if boats were allowed into the bayou.”

The commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the city manager to work with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to try to secure the extended period of protection for the manatees.

Due to property rights, waterfront homeowners with boats would be excluded from the new rules, according to the mayor. The city has also applied for a grant that would pay for manatee educational signs.