FWC ups staffing, prepares for busy Memorial Day weekend

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Teams of officers from Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission will be out on the water this Memorial Day weekend for what they say is one of the busiest boating weekends of the year.

Capt. Matt DallaRosa said all of their staff that can be working will be working. The agency canceled days off for some officers so they can be out on the waters of Tampa Bay patrolling in full force.

“Our officers when they’re out patrolling are always looking for those probable cause based violations,” he said. “Ultimately we’re trying to keep boaters safe. We want to make sure speed zones are being abided by and that significant careless and reckless boating isn’t occurring.

“If those things are seen by our officers they’ll address them as appropriate under state law.”

DallaRosa said the best way to be sure to have a safe and successful boating weekend is to create a plan. That includes checking tides before you go out, checking in consistently on weather updates, making sure the proper safety equipment is on board, and telling someone on land where and when you plan to return.

Memorial Day weekend also marks the last major holiday before the state’s new Boater Freedom Act goes into effect.

Until the new law takes effect on July 1, FWC and local law enforcement are within their legal right to pull over and board a boat without probable cause of suspected violation. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the purpose of the bill was to ‘right a wrong’ on how people are approached on the water by law enforcement.

During the announcement earlier this week, DeSantis compared it a situation where if a person is walking down the street, they cannot be stopped and searched without probable cause. He believes the same rules should apply on the water.

“To go in without any basis is not the way we want to do it in the State of Florida,” he said. “I think it’s unnecessarily created friction between the boating community and some folks in law enforcement.”

Dallarosa said while the new law has not formally taken effect, FWC is already aligning with the philosophy.