{"id":805180,"date":"2026-05-18T13:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T13:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/805180\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T13:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T13:52:12","slug":"mayor-city-leaders-announce-start-of-national-safe-boating-week-and-manatee-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/805180\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor, city leaders announce start of National Safe Boating Week and Manatee Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 National Safe Boating Week will be held May 16 &#8211; 22, 2026. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Every year, this is a time to remind boaters about the rules and safety tips for everyone to be safe on the water. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Being prepared, boaters can enjoy their time on the water with confidence, knowing that they are doing everything possible to protect themselves and others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Mayor Donna Deegan, the City of Jacksonville\u2019s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department and members of the boating community will gather at St. Johns Boat Ramp at 10 a.m. Monday at 901 Museum Circle on the Riverwalk west of the ramp to bring awareness to the importance of being safe while on the water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Representatives at the press conference will include Law Enforcement partners, United States Coast Guard, Jacksonville University Marine Science Research Institute (MSRI), Fish and Wildlife Commission, COJ Manatee Protection program, Jacksonville Waterways Commission, Jacksonville Sail and Power Squadron, and Safe Boating organizations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Duval County has approximately 230 linear miles of coastline affected by tidal influence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">According to the Florida Wildlife &amp; Commission (FWC) in 2024:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Florida is the Top state in registered vessels<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Duval County is rated 45th\u00a0in state in number of boating incidents<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>There are approximately 28,000 boats registered in Duval County<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Last reported, there were 16 boating accidents,7 injuries, 2 fatalities in Duval County<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 ehhZIC\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>58% were not wearing personal flotation devices<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>41% had and 39 had no boater education, % unknown<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Operator inattention and no proper lookout were major causes of boating incidents<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Furthermore, manatee protection is crucial for safeguarding these gentle giants and preserving their habitats. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">One of their threats is boat strikes. Key factors to help prevent these accidents are speed zone regulations, boater education, manatee sanctuaries, habitat conservation, and legislation and enforcement to name a few.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 National Safe Boating Week will be held May 16 &#8211; 22, 2026. Every year, this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":805181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,327754,746,3188,723,7310,84102,14639,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-805180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-boating-safety","tag-environment","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-jacksonville","tag-manatees","tag-st-johns-river","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}