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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s new report on the 2022 boating season. The main takeaway: Fewer accidents at sea, but more deaths.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it will cover vessels damaged by Hurricane Ian if they were liveaboards and the proper proof can be shown.
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The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will add to its boater safety course questions about the rules designed to protect manatees, sea turtles and other marine life at risk of injury from watercraft.
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Hurricane Ian sunk, stranded, or swamped so many vessels that the deadline to have them up and out of the waterways, mangroves, or backyards has been extended.If you are lucky enough to have a boat, car, motorcycle, all-terrain and vehicle and a trailer to haul it all, but hapless enough to have the 150-mph winds blow it all over the place you just got lucky again. Sort of.Hurricane Ian displaced more than 4,000 vessels, vehicles, and trailers – anything with a registration counts - and more than 500 of them are judged abandoned. The number of vessels thrown about by Ian is expected to grow as more are discovered, some totaled and removed by their owners’ insurance companies, and some not.Rob Beaton, a major with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in charge of boating and waterways, said owners are still encouraged to hire a salvage company themselves to recover their vessel, but if they cannot afford it, and hand over the title, his agency will coordinate the removal and destruction of the vessel, and owners will not be charged.
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Updates Post-Ian Recovery Resources, an ongoing feature post-Ian
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Hurricane Ian washed thousands of boats onto land all along the coast of Southwest Florida, and sank many as well. We talk with someone from the Boat Owners Association of The United States to find out who is responsible for removing or salvaging them.And when a disaster like Hurricane Ian unfolds The American Red Cross is there before, during, and after the storm. The non-profit humanitarian organization currently has more than 1,800 disaster workers and volunteers on the ground across the affected communities.
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The immediate search and rescue portion of the hurricane response may be over, but the recovery and reconstitution efforts by federal, state and local partners are ongoing. U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Officials ask recreational boaters to stay off the water this weekend.
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With a tropical system entering into the Gulf and uncertainty over landfall or weather effects in SWFL, boaters should be diligent about making preparations.
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A boating class Saturday will provide novice recreational boaters with knowledge needed to obtain Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission safety certification.
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National Safe Boating Week runs May 21-27. It serves as a chance for marine authorities to spread the safe boating message every year. It is a particularly important mission this year, since for the first time in Florida, recreational boating registrations topped one million vessels, which is more than any other state.