Boater's Guide to Hillsborough

Boater’s Tips: IDLE SPEED Speed Restrictions ◆ Stay clear of the main ship channel when large Vessel speeds are regulated for many reasons ships are approaching. Some vessels entering including safety concerns in high traffic areas, and Tampa Bay are as long as two football fields, to help ensure the safety of swimmers, boaters, or carry hazardous materials, and are very NO WAKE manatees. Please refer to motor exclusion zones difficult to maneuver. Many clear the 45-foot and shallow water cautionary zones on the map. deep shipping channel by as little as 4 feet, and may require a mile or more to stop. Pilot’s SLOW SPEED Idle Speed: A vessel operating in an “Idle vision may be restricted by the large size of the Speed No Wake” zone must slow to the minimum vessel they are captaining. It is up to the small speed that will maintain steerage control. An boat operator to keep safely out of the way of example of this is to put a car’s automatic trans- these ships. MINIMUM WAKE mission in “Drive” and allow it to idle forward. ◆ Monitor Channel 16 for distress calling and Slow Speed: A vessel operating in a “Slow safety, ship-to-ship and ship-to-coast contact. Speed Minimum Wake” zone must come fully off RESUME NORMAL plane and completely settle in the water. The ves- ◆ Be sure your boat is visible at night and in poor sel’s wake must not be excessive, so as not to create weather conditions. a hazard to other vessels. “Slow Speed Minimum ◆ The main shipping channels are shown on Wake” and “Slow Speed” mean the same thing and the map. SAFE OPERATION require the same operation. The terms are used interchangeably. Photo by ◆ Keep your boat in good repair with all neces- Over 300 pairs of Roseate Spoonbills, Florida’s native pink wader, nest each spring at the Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary. sary safety equipment on board. Resume Normal Safe Operation: Claudine When exiting an “Idle Speed” or “Slow Speed” Laabs. ◆ Watch for changing weather conditions. NO ENTRY zone, you will see a sign that states “Resume Hillsborough Bay ranks as one of the most ◆ Know your boat’s limitations and respect them. BEYOND Normal Safe Operation.” At this point you may Areas of important areas in the United States due to its Hillsborough Bay THIS POINT increase your speed to one that is appropriate for biological significance. The City of Tampa and ◆ Jet skis are boats, too, and must follow all boat- the sea and vessel traffic conditions. Special the Port of Tampa are both located along the is an Estuary ing regulations. shore of Hillsborough Bay, and it receives water No Entry: Boats, people and pets prohibited. Like all estuaries, Hillsborough Bay is a place ◆ The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power from several important tributaries, including Interest the Hillsborough River, the Palm River/Tampa where freshwater and saltwater mix. This Squadrons offer free boat inspections and The areas Shallow Water Danger: Bypass Canal, Delaney Creek, Archie Creek, the dynamic system is impacted by constantly boating safety classes. These are interest- SHALLOW behind the signs are very shallow and have healthy Alafia River, Bullfrog Creek, and Newman Branch, changing tides, water levels, salinity, and water ing, fun, and informative. See Resources for seagrass beds. At high tide, proceed with caution among others. Key biological sites and other areas temperatures. Special adaptations of the plants information. DANGER to avoid prop scarring and damage to seagrass. At of special interest are outlined below. Audubon and animals that live here help them survive WATER low tide, only poling or paddling across this area is ◆ Be careful to prevent spills during fueling and Florida includes Hillsborough Bay in its list of 100 in this demanding ecosystem. More than 95% appropriate, to protect seagrasses. when adding oil. Important Bird Areas of Florida. of Florida’s recreationally and commercially important fish, crustaceans, and shellfish live Safety and Security: Photo of prop- Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary part of their life cycles in estuaries, including scar, right, by Hillsborough Bay. The shallow waters of the bay, The Coast Guard Marine Safety and Security Task Seagrasses Carol Cassels. The Richard T. Paul Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary its salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses pro- Force is asking boaters to stay well away from all islands (Bird Island to the east, Sunken Island Seagrasses are underwater flowering plants that vide places for young sealife to hide from larger commercial vessels and facilities in Tampa Bay, to the west) were created when the Alafia River use strong roots to anchor themselves to shal- predators. Estuaries, often called the “nurser- to increase public safety and reduce the threat channel was dredged in the late 1920s. Today, the low bay bottoms. Like land plants, seagrasses use ies of the sea,” are among the most productive of terrorist attacks. Also, a security zone extends Alafia Bank is a bird sanctuary, owned by Mosaic photosynthesis to make energy from sunlight. landscapes in the world. Rivers and streams drain around MacDill Air Force Base and certain areas Fertilizer LLC and managed by the Audubon Seagrasses provide critically important food and into Hillsbo rough Bay’s biologically productive in the Port. Please refer to the map. To report Society. Each year 10,000 to 18,000 pairs of 16 to habitat for many animals, including manatees, estuary, bringing nutrients and sediments that suspicious activities, call 911 or VHF Channel 16. 20 species of birds nest here. It is one of Florida’s turtles, seahorses, seatrout, redfish, tarpon, and foster growth of salt marsh plants, mangroves, For more information: 727/824-7531. largest bird colonies and one of the most diverse shrimp. Seagrasses trap sediment, cleaning the Tricolored Heron and seagrasses. These plants drop their leaves, in the continental U.S. One third of Florida’s water, and dampen waves near populations in Florida which become food for billions of microscopic Roseate Spoonbills nest on the Alafia Bank. Large shorelines, reducing erosion. are declining due to animals, beginning the food web. numbers of migrating and wintering birds rest Please note motor Caution: destruction of fresh- and feed on the Alafia Bank shores and sandbars. exclusion zones and shal- Seagrass Beds! water wetlands where The sanctuary is posted “No Trespassing” and no low caution areas on the they feed. Seagrass beds are public access is allowed to protect nesting, rest- map. Most seagrass beds shown on the map. Photo by Rich Paul. ing, and foraging birds from disturbance. occur in waters 3–6 feet Boaters passing over deep, and at low tides, they seagrass beds should Tampa Port Authority Spoil Islands 2D and 3D are very vulnerable to “prop- be careful to prevent Tampa Port Authority Spoil Islands 2D and 3D are large man-made spoil scars”—damage caused by boat prop-scarring. If islands in Hillsborough Bay where dredged material removed from the propellers plowing deep furrows through the you’re near a seagrass shipping channels is stored. These islands provide critical nesting sites for grass that can take years to recover. bed, reduce speed and ground-nesting birds, including American Oystercatchers, Laughing Gulls, tip your motor up as ◆ Reduce bay pollution. terns and Black Skimmers. The Wildlife Commission lists these spoil islands Sea grasses far as possible. If you among Florida’s most important sites for colonial beach-nesting birds. Both ◆ Don’t overfertilize run aground, stop the rely on clean islands are posted “No Trespassing” for port security and bird protection. Volunteers work to create an oyster reef at lawns. motor, tip it all the The Port of Tampa is Florida’s largest port, and one of the nation’s Whiskey Stump Key. Photo by Doug Paul. waters. You way up, and walk, pole ◆ Request the Tampa largest ports, each year moving 50 million tons of products valued at or push your boat to can help. Bay Estuary Program’s over $1 billion. Cruise ships serve over 600,000 passengers each year. The deeper water. “Tampa Bay Repair Kit.” Tampa Port Authority manages the submerged lands in Hillsborough Bay, The Richard T. Paul Alafia Bank Bird Sanctuary including several “Aquatic Resource Protection Areas” (ARPAs) where is listed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Habitat Restoration groves along the closed gypsum stack Redwing site as the Schultz Restoration important natural features are protected by special management. ARPAs in Conservation Commission as the most important Numerous habitat restoration projects shoreline, north of the Alafia River. ◆ Park, with wetlands and estuary Hillsborough Bay include McKay Bay, the Bullfrog Creek ARPA, Gadsden wading bird colony in Florida. have been undertaken around Hillsbor- Mosaic Fertilizer LLC and the Water habitat. ◆ The Water Management Point, and Pendola Point. Photo by Rich Paul. ough Bay. These create marsh habitat, Management District restored wetland District’s Surface Water Improvement cleanse stormwater, restore upland shorelines along the Delaney Creek and Management Program and the Island 2D (to the north) is where about 10% of Florida’s population sites to healthy communities, and Popoff Canal. ◆ The Audubon Society County Park’s Resource Management of American Oystercatchers nest yearly. American Oystercatchers are improve wildlife and fisheries values. planted marshes and created nesting, Program are creating estuary habitat considered a “species of special concern,” with less than 400 pairs in the Mangrove and Salt Enhancement projects are on-going. roosting, and foraging habitats on the and wetlands on disturbed uplands at state. This large black-and-white sandpiper-like bird nests on the beach, just Some projects include: ◆ Tampa Port west end of Sunken Island. ◆ Tampa Port Apollo Beach, Simmons Park, and Wolf above the high tide line.

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