Boat Ramps Re-Opening in Florida
Boat ramps in Manatee County on the west coast of Florida have re-opened after the board of county commissioners voted 4-3 Friday afternoon to overturn an order made by the director of public safety. Public works employees worked yesterday morning to remove the concrete barriers and closed signs from ramps throughout the county.
Unfair to Boaters
The commissioners who voted to re-open the ramps, arguing that it helps low-income residents feed their families by fishing. They also felt it was unfair to restrict the public ramps because residents with private docks could still go boating.
“If we could keep every boat off the water, that’d be one thing, but there’s too many boats on the water,” commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace told Bradenton.com. on Friday. “I also know a lot of people who said they would’ve gone out and caught enough fish to take care of their neighbors and everybody.”
The ramps had been closed because public safety director Jake Saur and the county’s emergency policy group had seen large groups of boats gathering near Beer Can Island in late March.
Social Distancing Still Required
“My hope is that after the action by the board, the public continues to heed the message to social distance,” Saur said after the vote on Friday. “It’s unfortunate, at a pivotal point in our fight against Covid-19, that we could possibly send a mixed message that now is the time for the public to be at home. They should only be out for essential business.”
Following Suit
Not far from Manatee County, the town of Longboat Key in Florida re-opened its ramp on Linley Street as well. “We originally closed our boat ramp on Linley St. in the village in conjunction with the Manatee County closings to help address the likelihood that boaters that typically use the Coquina Beach boat ramps may then come over the bridge and try to use the town’s ramp,” Longboat Key town manager Tom Harmer told yourobserver.com yesterday. “Based on Manatee County’s actions to open up their public ramps this afternoon, we are also re-opening the Town Boat Ramp as of 3 p.m.”
The March 27 executive order by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission still requires recreational boaters to have no more than 10 people on board and to stay at least 50 feet away from other boats.