PALMETTO, Fla. — A proposed bill which limits anchoring or mooring near Florida seaports has some recreational boaters worried about their safety and access to state parks.

What You Need To Know

  • SB 594 and HB 795 would allow seaports to prohibit anchoring or mooring within 1,500 to 2,500 feet

  • Proponents said the bill clearly marks safe distances from port channels and turning basins 

  • Recreational boaters said it restricts their access to state parks near seaports and puts their safety in jeopardy 

  • April Smith said boaters do anchor near shipping channels or where big vessels are turning around

“It's not going to be a viable solution,” said boater April Smith of Palmetto. “It's not going to help anything.”

The proposed legislation, SB 594 and HB 795, would allow seaports to prohibit anchoring or mooring within 1,500 to 2,500 feet. Republican State Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez from Miami sponsored the senate version of the bill.

“As more recreational boaters look for places to anchor or moor, it’s just common sense to clearly mark safe distances from port channels and turning basins,” she stated. “Doing so helps protect both recreational boaters and the large commercial freight and cruise ships that rely on these waterways.”

Republican State Representative Chip Lamarca from Broward County has sponsored the house version of the bill and noted they have already reduced the seaport boundary from 5,000 feet.

“We have reduced the effective area and will continue to modify the language to address the safety issues,” he stated. “While making the least impactful changes to the boating public.”

Smith said for nearly seven years, she and her husband have been living on a 44-foot long Aquilla Power Catamaran, which they dock at the Regatta Point Marina in Palmetto for the winter. She said because the boat is 21.6 feet wide, it won’t fit in many marinas, which could be a problem if anchoring becomes restricted.

“Anchoring could be our only safe harbor for an evening and if they take that availability away from us within 2,500 feet, 1,500 feet of these ports, we could be in deep trouble,” she said. “Maritime law allows us to have a safe anchorage. This bill would have effectively taken that away from us.”

Smith said depending on where the seaport is located, the proposed legislation could also limit boaters' access to Florida’s natural resources.

“It's also going to limit access to many of the state parks. So, for example, in our Tampa area, Egmont Key and Fort DeSoto are major anchoring locations where people go fish and spend the weekends,” she said. “Those will be effectively closed down to boaters and will not be able to anchor in those locations.”

As Smith and her husband prepare to hit the high seas in a few weeks for the summer, she believes the bill is a solution in search of a problem.

“So the boats that are anchoring are not near those shipping channels and they're not near where those big boats are turning around,” she said. “It's just too far of a setback. So we do agree a setback is not a bad thing. This is just too much of a setback.”

The senate version of the bill has passed two committee stops and awaits a fiscal policy hearing. The house companion bill has passed its first committee.