Abandoned, derelict boats an ongoing issue in Manatee County

Hurricane season hasn’t started yet, but Bobby Woodson already is having issues with loose boats blocking his dock.

Woodson owns Tide Tables Restaurant and Marina, 12507 Cortez Road W., Cortez. The dock behind his restaurant, which opens up to a part of Sarasota Bay between Bradenton Beach and Cortez, brings customers to Tide Tables via boat. When loose boats drift too close to Woodson’s docks, it cuts into his business opportunities, he said.

“Nothing has changed,” Woodson said about the problem of abandoned and derelict boats. “This is the problem; it’s all policy. When we have a boat coming at us at 30 to 40 miles per hour and we know it will hit us, the Coast Guard can’t come and do anything unless there’s somebody on board and somebody’s life is in danger.”

On Tuesday, the Manatee County Commission approved a combined $70,000 in grant applications to the West Coast Inland Navigation District for the county Parks and Natural Resources Department and the Bradenton Beach Police Department’s abandoned and derelict vessel removal programs. Project applications will be reviewed and decided on at a September WCIND meeting.

The county’s project requests totaled 83 percent of the estimated $950,000 that is projected to be available in the next fiscal year. Other projects requested would provide funds for the Manatee County Sheriff’s marine patrol and replacing the Coquina South boat ramp, among others.

Last year, the Florida legislature adopted a new law meant to help law enforcement officials catch “at-risk” boats before they fall into the abandoned or derelict categories. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office has not issued any citations under the law, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Dave Bristow.

The Bradenton Beach police has issued five citations under the new law, according to Bradenton Beach Lt. John Cosby.

“Yes, the law has helped us,” Cosby said. “We’re just starting the process.”

Every 30 days, the boat owner will receive another citation if the violation is not corrected. By the fourth citation, the owner must appear in front of a judge.

Justin McBride, director of the West Coast Inland Navigation District, said the state law seems to be helping, but he knows there’s still work to be done.

“Does it stem the pipeline of boats? Not necessarily,” McBride said. “But it helps law enforcement deal with them more effectively.”

Last year, the Bradenton Herald reported that Manatee County taxpayers footed a $204,000 bill over almost seven years for abandoned and derelict vessel removal.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Abandoned, derelict boats an ongoing issue in Manatee County."