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Wrecked or sunken boats and other marine vessels can cause environmental hazards to marine life and pose threats to public safety.

State legislators met Thursday to speak with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about these derelict vessels.

The FWC’s Deputy Director Lt. Colonel Rob Rowe fielded questions from legislators at a House subcommittee meeting.

Democratic Representative Allison Tant asked Rowe about the timeline for cleanup for derelict vessels – marine vessels in disrepair.

“I was in Bradenton for a wedding towards the end of the year, and there were several vessels in the water sunk, you know, partially upside-down. Obviously, from Hurricane Milton – that haven’t been picked up,” Tant said.

“It usually happens between three to six months, this year is a little different because we had several hurricanes back to back,” Rowe responded.

Rowe says recent additional staffing means they are getting more shipwrecked boats out of the water than ever before.

But – he also says certain counties are prioritized, and some counties have more resources available than others.

On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis announced a legislative proposal he called the Boaters Freedom Initiative Act

Among other things, the proposal would repeal the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s authority to conduct random vessel safety inspections without probable cause.

Rowe addressed the matter while answering a question at the subcommittee meeting.

“Currently, you don’t have to have probable cause to issue or conduct a boater safety inspection But, I can say that the overwhelming amount of officers on the water do use probable cause – it’s good law enforcement practice to do that,” Rowe said.

In a press release, DeSantis said the act would protect boaters from “unwarranted searches” or “heavy-handed local government”.

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