Funding selections have been made for new research project
proposals that seek technological solutions to reduce collisions
between manatees and watercraft.
Background:
In 2001, the Florida Legislature appropriated $200,000 in the
Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund (MRCTF) to fund research
projects that directly address the problem of collisions between
manatees and watercraft and seek to reduce collisions using
technological solutions. Section 370.0603 F.S., provides, in part,
that "The Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund within the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall serve as a
broad-based depository for funds from various marine-related
activities and shall be administered by the commission for the
purposes of funding for marine research." Technological solutions
proposed under the Florida Manatee Avoidance Technology Grant
Program should be consistent with Florida Statutes, the federal
Endangered Species Act, and the federal Marine Mammal Protection
Act, and should not cause an unauthorized take of manatees.
Topics Eligible for Funding:
Topics eligible for funding through the Florida Manatee Avoidance
Technology Grant Program include, but are not limited to, the
following:
- Technology designed to alert manatees to the presence of
oncoming watercraft so the animals can modify their behavior to
avoid collisions
- Technology designed to alert boaters to the presence of
manatees to enable boaters to avoid manatees without changing the
behavior of the animals
- Hull or propulsion-system design or technology which may reduce
the risk of manatee-watercraft collisions or minimize injuries to
the animals in the event of a collision; other technology designed
to reduce the risk of manatee-watercraft collisions or minimize
injuries to the animals in the event of a collision
- Research on manatees to obtain data required for avoidance
technology development-can be studies about manatee hearing, sound
production, and responses to boat noise including, but not limited,
to behavioral and anatomical approaches-total annual funding in
this category limited to $50,000
The Request for Proposals is currently closed. However, we
expect to post another request for proposals in June, pending
budgetary appropriation.
Funds appropriated by the Florida legislature for the Florida
Manatee Avoidance Technology initiative have been awarded through a
request-for-proposals (RFP) grant process administered by the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Florida Marine
Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
The institute solicited proposals for development of technology
designed to reduce the number of manatees hit by boats. The panel
of experts chosen to review the proposals consisted of
representatives from the environmental community, boating
community, wildlife management, law enforcement, and biologists.
The proposals the panel selected for funding are designed to
explore technology that has not previously been applied to the
manatee-boat collision problem and include concepts related to
voice recognition, manatee sound localization, and infrared
technology.
Of seven proposals submitted, three were selected for funding.
The following list displays the ranks of the proposals selected for
funding and the amounts awarded.
|
Ranking |
Bidders |
Amount
Requested |
Funding
allocated |
| 1 |
University of
Florida |
$150,000 |
$150,000 |
Continuation of work on
passive acoustic detection of manatee sounds to alert
boaters
working to perfect a system that detects the presence of manatees
by passively detecting their vocalizations and incidental sounds
and using this information to alert boaters through a warning
system
Final
Report (463 KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 2 |
University of South Florida #1 |
$149,630 |
$132,287 |
Baseline research to measure
the abilities of manatees to localize sounds from boats and other
sources
Final
Report (1.28 MB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 3 |
Nova
Southeastern University #2 |
$19,994 |
$19,994 |
Development of an underwater
infrared camera to detect manatees
continuation of research to design an infrared system to detect
manatees
Final
Report (317 KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 4 |
University of South Florida #2 |
$150,000 |
$0 |
| 5 |
Wildlife
Trust |
$82,215 |
$0 |
| 6 |
Nova
Southeastern University #1 |
$25,770 |
$0 |
|
7
|
Xavier University
|
$144,373
|
$0
|
In addition to the projects funded thru the RFP process, the
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute funded Florida Atlantic
University's Dr. Ed Gerstein to continue to test his device that
may alert manatees to oncoming boats.
Final
Report (7.87 MB)
PDF File - Requires Adobe Reader to view
Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research
Institute was known as the Florida Marine Research Institute. The
institute name has not been changed in historical articles and
articles that directly reference work done by the Florida Marine
Research Institute.
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