HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-11-19 Marine Mile 84 Association MinutesAN A'{CHOR FOR
ECONO]*IC GROWTH
AND DEVELOPTEI{T l{AllllE0l
MINUTES
NovEMBER 19" FoR ocroBER MEETTNG
President Bill Bigger called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. at tfie Hampton lnn.
Minuteg of the meeting were reviewed.
Margaret gave a report on the Recreational Marine Employment Coalition
activities and noted the website for writing Gongress on this longshore act issue
is
Dania Beach City Manager lvan Pato spoke on the city's master plan, which
focuses on the marine industry and a dredging proiect for the Dania Cutoff Canal.
Speaker Kaye Pearson, Show Managemen! promoted the upcoming Boat Show
which he began 3l yeanB ago. He noted 31 marine companies that were in the '76
show are still in it Last year sales were only off 4 o/o in the wake of 9l l . Pearson
said there is phenomenal growth in the size of the show with six locations. Four
foreign governments are major displayers, a quality addition. There are 227 boats
over 80 teel,, 126 o ver 100 feet and several over 150 and two over 200 feet Fofi
six boat yards are building megayachts with 470 on order. A 440 footer is being
built in Germany. Overall the show will have 1,800 boats and 1'6 million squane
feet of space.
President Bigger led a roundtable discussion on issues of interest along Marina
Mite .The next meeting was scheduled for October 24m with Kay Pearson talking
about the boat show.
The meeting was adjourned.
Margaret Croxton, Secretary
MAR|NA MiLE 84, c/o MARGARST CRorroN ENTERPRISES, 1315 S. M|AMIRoAo *fF FoRT LAUDERDALE, FL 33316
9 t 524-1200 oRF^J.S l52+',1220
Marina Mile Association, Fwd: RMEC Meeting Minutes
To: Marina Mile Association
From: Margaret Croxton <mcroxton@mindspring.com>
Subiect: Fwd: RMEC Meeting Minutes
Cc:
Bcc:
Attached:
Recreational Marine Employment Coalition Meeting
October 30, 2002
4:00 PM to 5:30 PM
Riverside Hotel, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Frank Herhold opened the meeting by thanking coalfion members for their
hard work and efforb in obtaining the 15 co-sponsorships for The
Recreational Marine Employment Act of 2002 (HR,/1811). After
self-introductions, Monita Fontaine began the meeting with a synopsis of the
recent activities of the bill, HR 481 1. She explained the importance of the
congressional elections results on the legislation's firture. She could not
forecast the future but sakl the legislation has excellent opportunities in
the 108th Congress. Coalition mem bers then discussed the next steps for the
legislation which include shorving the data to key House and Senate committee
staff with oversight over the legislation and looking to the Senate br a
co-sponsor. The coalition believes the legislation will make a great deal
of movement by the Miami boat shoitr in February.
Coalition members spent the summer collecting data that demonstrates tfe
exorbitant cost of longshore insurance and the actual safety of the
recreational marine industy. Data was collected tom boatyards, marinas,
dock builders and manufacturing operations. The data was compiled into a
power point presentation that was shown to coalition members at the meeting.
The presentation includes statistical evidence and a historical background
of why the LHWCA was written to include the recreational marine indusfy.
This presentation is an excellent lobbying tool which will be given to
committee staff and other pertinent Hill stafiers in late 2OOzearty 2003.
The group began strategilng on how to build both additional congressional
support in the 108th Congress as well as recruiting new RMEC members. The
need for additjonal democratic supporters was also discussed. Peggy Kaiser
of Congrassman Clay Shaw's offce attended the meeting and gave the group
valuable strategic advice.
Members then discussed the RMEA educational tour for congressional staff in
Florida which will take place sometime early next year. lt was suggested
that the tour include both recreational and commercial building and
maintenance facilfies. This will allow staffers to witness the dramatic
difference between these two types of facilities. The group is exploring
visiting iacilities in both Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville.
1Printed for Margar€t Croxton <mcroxton@mindspring.com>
illarina Mile Association, Fwd: RMEC Meeting llrinutes
The group then discussed the financial future of the RMEC efforts and how to
obtain the necessary financial resources to fund the legislative efforts.
The coalition understands it takes financial strength to pass legislation
and discussed future fundraising efforts so that every coalition member
makes a contribution. lt was noted that a financial contribution is not a
political one and can be corporate or individual funds.
The coalition had the opportunity to see the RMEA website at
which will dramatically assist in disseminating information. The value of
the NMI\IA Making Waves section on its website as an informatlonal tool was
also discussed. ( )
The coalition's next meeting will take place at the Miami lnternational Boat
Show in February 2003. Details will be forthcoming.
Stacey Proctor
MOAA Government Affairs Coordinator
Toll-Free: 866/FOR-MOAA
Direct: 2021721-1612Fax: 2021721-1635
Email: sproctor@nm ma.org
Printed for Margarct C.oxton <mcroxton@mindspring.com>2
I MAI{AIEES ."S.uffff#T#i'Hffi.?
Manatee deffi'z
I
tees.
"As oeoPle begin to under'
stand ihis'is what the federal
sovenment has done, there's
Eoine to be a huge outcry," he
Iaia.-"the Peace River hasn't
had anv watercraft mortality
in threLyears. TheY.'re basi-
callv shutting down the nver
in ireas where they don't
CONTINUED FROM PAGE IB
But the Bush administra-
tion r€peatedly delayed destg-
, teadirE envF
order. since manatees werc
beins killed in such high
num6ers. "We belleve that ev-
erv dav counts," he said.
"es 6f Sept. 30, a record 84
manatees hadbeenkiIedby
watercraft this Year. withspur restrictions
BY DAVID FIISHLER,
STATF WRITER
With a record number of
manatees.dying in boat colli-
sions, the federal government
on Friday designated I 3 coast-
al areas in Florida where boat-
ing and other activities would
he restricted or bannerl.
The announcement, which
came fur resDonse to a court or-
der. was 'immediatelY de-
nounced by boating grouPs for
goiogtoo far and bY enviro-n-
mentalbts for not going tar
murgh. I
Manatee refuges and sanc-
tuaries were designated in Cit-
rus, Pinellas, Hillsboroughl
Sarasota, Charlotte, DeSotol
Lee and Brevard counties, Thd
largest refugewill be on4,19(
acres in southwest Florida,
where boat speeds will be re-
stricted alongthe mouth ofthe
Peace River and adjacent
creeks to protect the gentle,
slow-moYing mammals.
Ted Forsgren, executive di-
rector of the Coastal Conserva-
tion Associetion, a fishing
group, said thi: Peaee River re-
strictions will eniage boate6
while doing lit0e to help mana-
for a coalition of environmeo-
tal srouDs that had sued to
forie thd government to act'
said the list fell far short ot
what was needed to Protect
the manatee. No Protected ar-
eas were set uP in areas that
sDokesman forthe U.S. Fish
^'.rd
Wildlife Service' declined
comment on whether tho
deadline had been met, refcr-
rins onlv to the service's wtit-
ten"anriouncement that thG
list of protected areas had
be€n sent to the Fe derol Reg'
ist€r on Friday.
The judge hadthreatened
to hold the government ln
three months left to go.
Underwood,Chuck
have a problem.'
Eric GlitzenstetL attorney
contempt for failing to com'
are particularlY dangerous p\v with the settlement agree-
for manatees,such as the wa-me nt. Ahe aring will
uesday
be con-
ters of Duval,Volusia and ducted T to see
ent's
I A[tllts [0NTINUEs 0N 28
Collier counties,he said wheth new
"You can't say You 'reseri- annou
p rotected areas FridaY com-
plieg with his order-
designatgovernment
tyPes oI Pro
a dozen other groups for fail-
slower speeds.
Here are the sanctuanes:Manatee Club and more than
lue Water Manatee Sanctu-
ous about Protecting mana-
tees and then ignore these
counties,' he said.
The announcement ! nday
er the governm
ncemelt of the
Bayou,116
Bay; Little
The
ed two tected ar-
was the latest step.in a long eas:sanctuaries,in which
p rocess that began when the boating and other activities
government was sued bY De- are banned,and refuges, in
fenders ot Wildlife, Save the whichboats are restriited to
ing to do enough t o protect
the endange red sea mam- ary'I.7 acres at headwaters
mals. In a settleme ntreached of Ho mosassa River, Citrus
at the end of the C
ministration, the gove
linton ad- County; B
rnment Sanctuary'
ig Bend
30 acres
Manatee
atTampa
agree d to designate 16 pro-Electric Co.discharge canal
tected areas where boats in Tampa BaY;Port Sutton,
would be rcstricted.2.? acres at Ganno n Electric
B
t natingtheareas1 ronmentalists
Generating Station, Tampa
Bav: Bartot Electric Generat-
in; station, 30 acres at dis-
cr;rse catalin Tampa Bry.
HEre are the refuges: Bigto accusG
federal offlcials ofbendingto
pres sure from boaters. TheY Bend,221 acres,nextto man-
went back to court, and U'S'atee sanctuary at the TECO
District Judge Emmet Sulli-pl ant; Port Sutton,97 acres,
van in Washington'D.C., next to the sanctuary
found that the gove rnment GannonPowerPlant; Pansy
acres on Sarasota
had violated the terms of the
SarasotaBaY,S29ent.He
n Bay, 948 acres;
gaYe federal
agreem
officials until Fri- acres; lrmo
day to publish the list of Pro-Peace River,4,196 acres;
tected are as in the Federal Shelllsland,80 acres, at the
Regts ter, the daily chronicle mouthof the Caloosah.tchee
ofnew rul& and regu'River,l2e County;HauloverfederalCanal,22 acres, at north end
lations.
The announce ment Friday of Merritt Island,
came too late to complywith County; Co€oa Beach,
the judge's order,because tbe acres in Ban ana River,
list stiII was not Publishedin Blwadcounty'
the Federal Regis
Fish andWildlife Sewice said
the Iist wa,s sent to the Feder-Dqvid Flahler conbe
ol Regis ter on Friday with a ieoehed at $leshler @ sun-
requeit fo sentinel.om or
ter. The '
cation."
r "expedited Publi 954356-453s
I
at the
Brevard
59
settlement
, Tt.tr{l)t u-!NE.rq .l
Reviewl prrzrp(
Upgrad e )*'"
the lowly
manatee
Manatee i,,;;
report stiffij
confusioft;l
BYC URTIS MORGAN
-cmoIgan@t|ersjd.com
But reclassifying the gehtlegialts froE "eudalsered,iitb
the less severe .. tnt:".tJlidi,could have considerable
impact on public percefiihh
aEd the politics of maEateeprotectioD- 1M .
Boating groups immedidlSlv
braEdished the reportiwta
potential weapon ia thetlfi*-
tle'against restrictions dlvo-
cated by the Savethe wt<ee
Club and othet eqvironmerf*I
"I don't thitrk sone dfttb
things tie club has beed liilR-ing about.aie even realfstic
The..manatee" luEbering and
lovable poster mammal of environ-
meutal -orotection, has rebornded
enouehio be removed ftom Flori-
da,s -endangered specie's list,
accordilg to a state biological
review released WednesdaY.
. The lloiida Marhe Research
Ilstitute flade the recomEeoda-
tion based on new estimates that
the pooulation of slow-movirg,
seagiasi-muncr'i"g nammals has
bee-n growing foi decades and
won't Io extinlt for at least half a
ceDturv-
But i-E a controversial draft
report riddted with enough coaEa-
diitions that a top institute admin-
istrator declared it "confirsing," sci-
entists also found the growmg
number ofboats and the sb.riaking
amounts of habitat added lrP to "a
proiected Population decline of at
ieait 50 pit"int over the next 45
Yea!s"'
With manatees desigtrated atr
enda.nsercd species under two fed-
eral iaws, regrrlators Predicted
there would be no change ia exist-
ing orotections, zuch as slorcPeed
.o'd oo-.rttY zooes that dot the
csct :tdi*ide-
'arynore uddei this ,.*,iffoil.
mation " said Ted Forsfir*,executivi director of' fEe
Coastal Conservation Associa-tion-Florida, a recreaqt{lil
augling group that petiti6ied
the Plorida Fish and wiialife'Conservation Commissfri*,fo
review the ma-natee's statd6i-)ItCRTTICAL FINDING i sr{l
Forsgren said tbe Sl#lb .
critical fading was tr,"1 fr'1["-tee populatioas 1a6 lftttr i
growing, not shrinkine, {ryir
the last 25'years. - rlot\' .
"It cotrtradicts ever@i*s
the save tte Manat* ctilg ua! i
been saying," he said- ee!1i
Patti ThompsoD, dfu ectosbf
science and conservatidd hlr
the Maitland-based SaV.olte
Maratee Club, dismissdfl the
report. "This is politics ftQf,-
ing all over science,,, she. sbXL
Thoipson said the citr to
reclassift the 'nanetee sd1[rt*a
misleading message and>hffs
in the face of mountindq*tht
deeths. This year's toi'd:;84with more than tpo E&fhs
remaining, is already #id-
time higb- Boaters ersue thatthe growing deaths -uf5ft,
reflert a trowing population oftnehrtees. 1L
She atrd other €nviroiii66-
telists also argue the re€dhr-
meodation he< little to A<i,witl
science and everything td&
witb changes iu how thesgafe
defines'endangered-- l'.r!
Srri:][TEIEECIITETIA IT
Under the new defndl&1,
adopted in 1999, a speciesdudt
:meet at least one of these*8&s
to be designated endanliirgd
- an 80 percetrt proiddd
decline in populatiotr oyer ,5
vears: less tlun 50,maturdk{l-
EalE total; and a'so piii6it
chanie of extiDction :lt 50
Eni.irobmentalists; w{6 are
eba[eneirg the standard*e6e-
'ti:nd that not even the Fl&ftla
Patrther would qualify tidgr
zuch sringent standards:Q gt
: Elsa llaubold, res€htit
sdministrlfql fe1 tbe reidflft:h
insfitute, said the m#ii!{e
r€tr drt did confrE "thin€5gine
looking better over the IH3?S
years." Scientists found Sw-
iag populations i[ Nort$lC6t
Florida and the Sr fohn'srEldr
but remabed u-acertein -dr&t
the two largest areas JrQtre
Atlaltic Coast and Soutf,ivest
Florida, where manate6ii*e
believed in decline. ri-
I'he recommendatiofl*El
faces a review bv a paftfl6f
independeat scilntiitS-'isa
EuSt be adopted by the sFetes
Fish and Wildlife
,
Cons-e_r?a-
tion Commission, whfuh is
scheduled to consider it iilfrlijr-
uarY. 'l 5'i'ru
r.: :!'.
, )}IAIIAIIEIROI,IE .;:'
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