A measure prohibiting vessel searches that stem from safety inspections on the water is among a slew of laws to be enacted in Florida this week.
It halts a long-running practice in which state and local marine law enforcement could stop boaters and board their vessels without probable cause.
says long-standing vessel searches have 鈥渦nnecessarily created friction鈥� between boaters and law enforcement. The governor signed the bill, which he has dubbed the Boater Freedom Act, at a May news conference in Panama City Beach.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e walking down the street, law enforcement can鈥檛 just go up to you and stop you and search you,鈥� DeSantis said. 鈥淏ut, yet, on the water, that really isn鈥檛 the case.鈥�
Opponents of the measure say it takes away a major tool for enforcing fishing rules and deterring poachers 鈥� random cooler searches. They worry that fish populations carefully monitored by state biologists could subsequently dwindle.
DeSantis and state Sen. Jay Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who sponsored the bill, have said they expect a different outcome. They predict law enforcement will be free to spend more time and resources going after the few bad actors who are boating recklessly and endangering others on the water.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about trusting the vast majority of Floridians who are doing the right thing and letting law enforcement officers focus on those who are truly violating the law,鈥� Trumbull said at the same news conference. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not removing oversight. We鈥檙e reinforcing fairness.鈥�
鈥楤ag limits are irrelevant鈥� under law
For Matt DePaolis, the environmental policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation in Southwest Florida, the new law favors boaters鈥� rights over protection of the state鈥檚 marine ecosystem.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real worry that it will be much easier to get away with poaching now, because it is very difficult to catch someone in the act,鈥� DePaolis said. 鈥淗aving the ability to go and do a quick check seemed like an important enforcement mechanism.鈥�
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency tasked with managing fish populations by setting catch limits and season lengths, is also responsible for upholding those rules through its law enforcement arm. The agency has endorsed DeSantis鈥� initiative and is expected to issue guidance on the new law.
Capt. Matthew DallaRosa, a supervisor for the wildlife agency鈥檚 Tampa Bay area branch, said he isn鈥檛 concerned that the law will impede officers鈥� ability to enforce marine rules.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always conducted regulatory inspections,鈥� DallaRosa said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e adjusted to a million changes. I don鈥檛 see any significant impact.鈥�
DePaolis said he would expect the wildlife agency to reduce bag limits if biologists observe a decline in populations.
鈥淚f they feel confident that they鈥檙e able to correctly manage fishery stocks even with this bill, that鈥檚 great,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I would still be worried that this is an important tool in managing healthy fisheries and stopping poaching that is now being taken away.鈥�
Alan S. Richard, a former captain for the wildlife commission and maritime law adjunct professor at Florida State University, recalled one safety inspection he conducted in 1984. He was relieving another officer from his post when he saw a boat spot their patrol vessel and sharply turn away, cutting across the flats where it could have easily run aground.
That maneuver wasn鈥檛 illegal, but it was suspicious, Richard said. He stopped the boater and waited for backup to arrive. Under the deck, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 486 pounds of cocaine.
鈥淭hat just wouldn鈥檛 have happened under this new law,鈥� he said.
Richard called the measure an 鈥渁bomination鈥� and said he expects it will be repealed in a future legislative session after lawmakers realize their mistake.
He was careful not to speculate on how the wildlife agency and county courts will interpret the law but said it would make officers鈥� jobs more difficult 鈥� whether that be upholding public safety, busting drug runners or catching poachers.
The law undermines the state鈥檚 conservation efforts, Richard added.
鈥淏ag limits are irrelevant if you can鈥檛 stop a boat and check them,鈥� he said.
Private lawyers who defend those accused of fishing violations expect to see fewer charges filed and even fewer that stick.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had clients where ... they鈥檝e caught something they shouldn鈥檛,鈥� said Ranger Jackson, a Pinellas criminal defense attorney. 鈥淎nd if this law was in effect, that wouldn鈥檛 have gotten off the ground.鈥�
But Jackson said fears that the law gives boaters 鈥渃arte blanche鈥� to catch 鈥渨hatever illegal fish you want鈥� are unfounded.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e violating law, if your registration isn鈥檛 up to date, if you鈥檙e violating the wake zones, if you鈥檙e anchored to something that you鈥檙e not supposed to be, then you can still run into problems,鈥� he said.
The search law also seems to apply only to enforcement on the water. It鈥檚 likely that wildlife officers would keep the power to conduct random searches on boaters returning to public boat ramps as well as those fishing from shore, Jackson said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 guardrails that are in effect,鈥� he said.
Springs, seagrass threatened
Environmental groups have taken issue with other parts of the law, including language that raises the bar for creating that impose restrictions on speed, anchoring, mooring, beaching and grounding boats.
Under previous rules, the wildlife agency must prove recreational boat use is harming a sensitive spring area to limit boating there. The law will make it so the agency must now prove there is 鈥渟ignificant harm鈥� and that boating is the main cause of that damage.
It has already cast a chilling effect over consideration of a protection zone at one north Florida spring after the wildlife agency .
Other parts of the law preempt local governments from banning 鈥渢he sale or use鈥� of gas-powered boats. DeSantis cited a California rule 鈥� blocked by the Senate in May 鈥� that seeks to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
DePaolis, the environmental policy director, said he鈥檚 worried the law could be stretched to do away with boat engine restrictions on environmentally sensitive land like manatee zones, seagrass beds and bird rookeries.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e saying now that you can鈥檛 differentiate between energy sources, then it seems like you can鈥檛 make a canoe or kayak or paddle or sailing-only area,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o now it鈥檚 really going to restrict the ability of recreation.鈥�
It鈥檚 the vague language of the bill and its uncertain implications for fisheries and conservation that gives DePaolis pause.
鈥淏oating is about freedom. Florida is about freedom. It鈥檚 great to not have to worry about the cops breathing down your neck,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut at the same time, our environment is a shared resource, and we have tools to manage it. Until we are managing it effectively, we need to be able to utilize those tools.鈥�
This story was originally published by the and shared in partnership with the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a multi-newsroom initiative founded by the Miami Herald, the Sun-Sentinel, The Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, SA国际传谋 Public Media and the Tampa Bay Times.
