Yacht club at center of manatee dispute

FORT MYERS, Fla., Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A yacht club set to be built in Lee County, Fla., marks the newest hurdle in the fight to protect manatees from area boaters, animal advocates say.

The 128-slip yacht club given the green light by federal regulators is one of the Florida sites that four national conservation groups are targeting as sites that could potentially put the manatee population at risk, The Sarasota (Fla.) Herald Tribune reported Thursday.

Groups such as the Save the Manatee Club and Defenders of Wildlife want to stop increased boat traffic near natural sites where the marine mammals live, feed or breed.

The groups have called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to update a manatee site list in order to stop such commercial projects as the approved yacht club.

The groups' related petition to the federal group has some boaters in the region concerned that most waterways may be placed under speed restrictions to protect the manatees, the Herald Tribune said.

The state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission counted 2,817 manatees living in the state's waterways in 2007.The newspaper said 77 manatees were found dead from boat collisions in 2008.