Friday, November 6, 2009

In the Florida Keys, boats are many people's source of recreation and livelihood, and in some cases, their homes.

But they can be a headache for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers who are responsible for enforcing boating laws, and a burden to taxpayers who ultimately pay for the removal and disposal of derelict vessels.

The Florida Legislature last year shelled out $1.5 million for the removal of 97 boats across the state, FWC Lt. Dave Dipre said.

Other daunting problems facing FWC officers are people illegally or improperly mooring their vessels, not having the proper lights to be anchored or moored at night, and not pumping out their sewage.

The FWC has embarked on a pilot program to establish rules for people mooring or anchoring off Florida. Currently, local ordinances for anchoring are enforceable only in state- or local-government permitted mooring fields, such as the one behind Fleming Key in Key West and Boot Key Harbor in Marathon.

FWC wants to work with city and county governments on the best way to regulate boats that anchor outside permitted mooring fields. Monroe County and the city of Key West will be among five areas statewide chosen for this pilot program, city and county officials said. The FWC will submit a report on the pilot program to the governor and Legislature by Jan. 1, 2014.

Monroe County and Key West officials want to participate in the program to make sure people's boating rights and accessibility are maintained, and at the same time, rules are set up to require people to pump out and take responsibility for their boats if they sink or are no longer usable.

There are hundreds of people living on boats moored and anchored in Key West Harbor between Wisteria Island and Fleming Key, in Boca Chica Basin and in Cow Key Channel between Stock Island and Key West. Those areas are not permitted mooring fields and not in the jurisdiction of the city of Key West and Monroe County. The vessels have fallen through the cracks when it comes to enforcement, as they are on either privately owned or state bay bottom, giving the local municipalities not much in way of control over them.

Derelict boats have become a big problem in the Keys, as many people have left vessels, some half-sunk, in local waters. The county has spent thousands of dollars removing the abandoned vessels, as they ultimately become navigation hazards.

Most recently, the FWC and the Coast Guard spent nearly $100,000 removing and dismantling the defunct Pair-O-Dice floating casino, which was abandoned in Key West Harbor and twice broke free from its mooring. FWC officers eventually charged the two owners of the vessel, Mickey Marrone and Richard Marrigan, with criminal abandonment of a derelict vessel, and plan to go after them for the removal costs. The two are awaiting trial, Dipre said.

Live-aboard vessels outside of permitted areas are secured to the sea floor using anything from 50-gallon oil drums filled with concrete to engine blocks, Dipre said. Some are even illegally leasing the moorings to other boaters, he said.

"I'm not in favor of the government making money off this, but there are issues that need to be addressed," Dipre said. "One difficulty is people illegally pumping out. Another is that these boats sink and people leave them out there and we have to go out there and remove them. ... I just want some boaters to stop imposing on other boaters, dumping their sewage and doing other things that impact other boaters. ... I do not want to run them (live-aboards) out."

Archer also does not want to see the live-aboard boats pushed out, as the old sailboats and yachts that line Key West Harbor are affordable housing.

"Key West (city officials) considers them an important asset to the community," Archer said. "Most people who live out on the hook don't want government intervention. That's the nature of living on the hook."

The goal of the FWC's pilot program is to give local municipalities the authority and the tools to regulate boaters who live or keep their boats outside mooring fields, FWC officials said.

The county and city have been in discussions on the issue and county Marine Resources Director Rich Jones will give a presentation on the FWC program at the next Key West City Commission meeting, in December, Archer said.

People can receive more information on the mooring program online at http://www.MyFWC.com/Boating or by sending questions to anchoring.mooring@myfwc.com.

tohara@keysnews.com