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BoatU.S. argues that a more sensible solution lies in better enforcement of laws already on the books, not redundant laws that create unfair restrictions for responsible boat owners
Aerial view of Belle Isle, the Venetian Island closest to Miami Beach, looking west toward downtown Miami. Photo Getty Images
Anchoring rights for recreational boaters are again under threat in Florida, this time in Miami’s Biscayne Bay – a prime staging area for cruisers bound for the Bahamas and Caribbean. Legislation passed this spring and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis will ban overnight anchoring between the man-made Venetian islands along the Venetian Way that connects Miami Beach to the mainland. The legislation (CS/CS/HB 437), which purports to remove pockets of unsightly derelict and abandoned vessels permanently anchored in the shadow of prime South Beach real estate, takes effect July 1, 2024.
The lawmaking is misguided for two reasons, says David Kennedy, manager of BoatU.S. Government Affairs:
1. Anchorages should not be restricted for responsible cruising boaters because of the actions of irresponsible boaters, and 2. Existing laws already address the derelict issue directly – if they’re only enforced.
“The proposed bills seek to carve out anchoring exclusion zones along Biscayne Bay, effectively privatizing public waters for the benefit of a select few waterfront property owners,” Kennedy wrote in an Opinion essay published February 27 in The Miami Herald. But such a ban fails to address the core issue of derelict vessels that blight the bay’s landscape and endanger its delicate ecology.
Squeeze Play
The proposed legislation increases the portions of Biscayne Bay where overnight anchoring is prohibited, specifically adding the sections between Palm Island and State Road A1A, and between San Marino Island and Di Lido Island.
The stated reason behind the legislation is specious, supposedly to address concerns about the impact of permanently stored vessels that are sometimes used as housing, and navigational safety as some of these boats are on the road to becoming derelict. No one disputes that abandoned and derelict boats pose a problem in Biscayne Bay, polluting the water, endangering marine life, and creating boating hazards – especially in severe weather. Through a partnership with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Miami-Dade County has removed 158 derelict/abandoned vessels from Biscayne Bay since 2019.
Permanently stored” vessels, often used as housing, create navigation hazards and water pollution, endanger marine life, and are at risk of becoming derelict. Photo: Rich Armstrong
A Better Solution
BoatU.S. has partnered with other recreational boating associations, including the America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association (AGLCA), Marine Trawler Owners Association (MTOA), and Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) to oppose this legislation and promote more focused solutions.
“There is certainly a problem with boats that are stored long-term on Biscayne Bay. Some are not following existing laws and regulations, and there are many derelict boats that need to be removed,” says Kim Russo, director of AGLCA. “But if a boat is not derelict, isn’t discharging blackwater into the Bay, and isn’t otherwise breaking the law, then the city has no right to force them to leave. The waterways are held in the public trust for the use of everyone.”
David Kennedy points to 2021 state legislation that created a new category of boating-restricted areas, Anchoring Limitation Areas (ALAs), as the correct legislative tool to fix this problem. Under the ALA law, counties can establish local rules by working through FWC and a public hearing process to establish an ALA. Once established, an ALA allows for a maximum 45-day stay, plenty of time for cruising boaters to find a good weather window to cruise.
“Instead of crafting redundant legislation, resources should be allocated toward enforcing these laws and bolstering efforts to identify, remove, and properly dispose of abandoned vessels,” Kennedy wrote in The Miami Herald.
This map shows the anchorage closures in Biscayne Bay.
Other Florida marine communities in Jacksonville, Hollywood, and Pinellas County are using the ALA law as intended, Russo says. But “Miami Beach decided to bypass that process and instead attempted to completely ban overnight anchoring. That would cause the boats to move elsewhere and shift Miami Beach’s ‘problem’ to other jurisdictions. A county-wide approach that addresses derelict, long-term stored and abandoned vessels is a better solution.”
This new legislation will dramatically restrict how seasonal cruisers who are waiting for a safe weather window to time the tides and head out from Florida across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas, or out from Florida to head south to the Caribbean islands, will plan their safe departure. Many use the Biscayne Bay area for this jumping-off point.
Russo adds: “There is very little transient dockage available in the area. They’d have to anchor farther away from a preferred inlet for cruising-sized boats. For slower boats like sailboats and trawlers, that means cruising the inlets in the dark,” which is not the safe choice.