Manatee County cruise port proposal faces opposition

BRADENTON, Fla. — A cruise terminal proposal has generated pushback from Manatee County residents and raised concern from environmental groups.

Protecting Tampa Bay’s water and wildlife is a passion for Maya Burke, but it’s also her job. The proposal could have a significant affect on her.

Burke, assistant director for the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, says a spot near the South Sunshine Skyway rest area is ecologically rich.

“There are important coastal wetlands and mangrove forests, lush seagrass meadows. There’s even hard live bottom out in this part of the bay. So it’s really unique and important habitats, and it would be devastating to lose these,” she said.

Burke worries about the impact of a large port.

“If we have a cruise port here, not only would we need to protect things like Rattlesnake Key, which are already here existing in natural state, but we would have to add more beyond that. So we would have to sort of come out with a net benefit for the environment,” she said.

Because the proposal has not been added to a Manatee County Board of Commissioners agenda, the county has no comment on it. We reached out multiple times to individual commissioners for their opinion. None responded. The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau also declined comment.

But SSA Marine, a national terminal cruise operator, says the proposed port will have a positive economic impact. On the website Knott Cowen Cruise, it says: “We estimate that the construction investment for this proposed project will generate more than 31,000 jobs in industries directly and indirectly related to the port in the state and region, and boost labor wages by $1.6 billion. In addition, this infrastructure investment is projected to generate more than $5 billion in total economic impact for the state and regional economy.”

Florida AAA representative Mark Jenkins says the prospect of adding a cruise port in Manatee County is an exciting opportunity.

“I think this has a direct economic impact on the area as well, because you have travelers who are coming to the area for a cruise, many of them looking to stay a couple of days before and after their cruise where they’re visiting the hotels, the restaurants and different establishments,” he said.

But many Manatee County residents don’t agree.

Corey McKeever started a petition a week ago against the port. It already has thousands of signatures.

“There had to be someone that could stop this, and I guess that person had to be me,” he said.

He felt the need to lead the movement, as someone who knows these waters. He has owned and operated McKeever’s Marine for 15 years.

“It will destroy the water. It will destroy the ecosystem bigger. It will destroy all the local businesses because these companies are creating their own businesses. This money is not going to come to us. It’s going directly to the cruise company,” he said.

And for environmentalists like the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, the debate isn’t just about ships or jobs — it’s about what could be lost in waters that can’t easily be replaced.