The Monroe County Commission has agreed to move forward on two proposals to make diving for spiny lobster safer in the nearshore waters off of the Florida Keys, after a local man was struck by a boat under the Boca Chica Bridge off of Stock Island and remains hospitalized.
The commission, at its Wednesday, Aug. 21 meeting, agreed to have it staff review and possibly draft rules that would prohibit scuba diving or snorkeling within 300 feet of bridges beginning three days prior to the opening of and during the entirety of lobster mini-season the last Wednesday and Thursday of July and for the first five days of regular lobster season, which starts Aug. 6.
Sean Steven Bender, 20, was hospitalized on the first day of spiny lobster mini-season on Wednesday, July 24, after he was reportedly struck by a boat propeller. The Trauma Star air ambulance took him to Jackson South Medical Center in Miami with life-threatening injuries, where he remains this week. The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Commissioner Craig Cates proposed the changes and FWC Capt. Dave Dipre addressed the commission on Aug. 21, possible regulations.
“This was a terrible accident that changed his whole life,” Cates said. “He is very lucky to have survived it and the investigation is still ongoing by the FWC, but I thought would be timely to talk about this and get input from the citizens about making changes. ... It may be inconvenient to slow down but in the long run it’s worth it.”
There can be as many as 50 to 75 vessels parked along a bridge during lobster mini-season with more than 100 divers in the water, Dipre said. Also many of the vessels transiting under bridges while people are in water do not know all of the regulations, including that vessels are required to be 300 feet from a dive flag, Dipre said.
“There are large numbers of vessels and divers around bridges, and there’s obviously a conflict,” Dipre said. “Even if you have a dive flag, the view of the dive flag is obstructed. Many of the bridges there are no slow speed zones. .... Bridges are excellent places to lobster and present obstructions to vessels oncoming, as was the case with Boca Chica. The boat was cutting it short. The dive flag was behind one of the pylons and wasn’t visible until the boater came around the corner and it was too late.”
County Attorney Bob Shillinger suggested, and the commission, agreed to “pursue both in the beginning.”
“It may take longer to get the speed limit restrictions in place because that’s going to be a much longer process,” Shillinger said. “We can control within our own legislative process the diving portion of that now and maybe a temporary step that we pull back later if other steps prove successful.”
The county has the authority and has enacted restrictions on prohibiting diving in canals and within 300 feet of shorelines.
Shillinger agreed to work with both the FWC and the Coast Guard on possible diving and boat speed regulations and to hold a public hearing before any proposals are implemented.
Marathon diver Ricky Allen asked the commission to not prohibit diving and harvesting lobsters from bridges, as he called it a “safe accessible choice” for those who take precautions like using dive flags, she said.
“Banning bridge diving takes away the ability for people without boats to participate in lobster season, forcing them over crowded limited areas still available for shore diving,” he said. “Safety is always paramount. Instead of banning bridge diving, a more effective solution is to enforce slow speed zones.”
Commissioner David Rice raised the issue of the need for more boating education courses and having licenses for operating a vessel.
“I always puzzled me that we require training and a license to operate a car, but we let any idiot in the world drive a boat,” said Rice, who took the class to obtain a commercial boat captain license. “I think education could play a major role. I think it has to be an organized approach and a statewide approach.”
Local News
