Is it legal to scuba with Manatees?

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Is there a link somewhere with the state or federal legislation stating it is illegal to scuba dive with them? I just found guidelines at FWC and they just warn you about the bubbles and noises scaring them away, and also not to follow them or chase if you happen to encounter one of them. Just wanted to find some official info instead of just taking someone's word.

The info the state provided me a few years ago said I couldn't pursue or harass. If they approached me, it's okay. Obviously you can't ride one. Im sure we can locate something in writing. I dive with them every year.
 
This one just says you can't scuba dive at Three Sisters Springs from November 15 through March 31.

That is correct. You can dive in Kings bay, but the vis is crap, it's shallow, and Manatees swim away from your bubbles and into their protected "no entry" zones.

There are plenty of marker bouys and signs out there, it's pretty hard to end up somewhere you're not supposed to be....
 
I dove at King Spring in Kings Bay of Crystal River yesterday.

Visibility doesn't open up until you get to the source of the spring.

Didn't see any manatees, but did see a couple tarpon, a cavern room just stuffed with large snook, and some dolphins team hunting (alas, saw the dolphins from the surface, not while diving).

If my goal was to see manatees while scuba diving, I'd probably go to Hospital Hole in the Weeki Wachee River, go down to about forty feet and just hang out, waiting for them to swim over the hole from the adjacent shallow water. By the time you go through a tank or two, there's a good chance some will wander by. From below, you could watch them without bothering them. If the manatees don't show up, you can at least watch other fish from below.
 
@Scraps

How's the dive at King Spring? I hear it is 50ft deep? Is it worth it? Do you kayak there or somehow swim from shore?

What about hospital hole? I heard visibility can be hit or miss on that one. Also heard about the sulfur cloud layer.

I was just thinking about going to Hunter Springs and sitting at the bottom watching them.
 
alcalde,

My partner at King Spring was not cavern certified, so we stayed within her limits, and thirty feet was about as deep as she could go without having anything overhead. I would have liked to have gone further in because it got more clear the deeper we went.

I checked out a boat from the boat club at Plantation, less than a half mile away. There were kayakers there--don't know where they put in.

The tarpon and the cavern room stuffed with snook made the trip worthwhile for me, but there's not enough there to make me want to go back soon.

Hospital Hole does have a pronounced hydrogen sulfide layer. Its depth varies. Last time I was there, it was around 50-70 feet, with good vis both above and below it.
 
I have dived with manatees many times at Hospital Hole. And that area is frequently monitored by FWC/ LE. Making sure you have a dive flag, etc. Never have I seen any action taken for diving there. It is not a very large hole so divers being in close proximity to the Manatees when they are present is a certainty. I have not seen divers approach manatee or overtly harass them. But I have seen the manatee show interest in the divers. I am confident that harassment of the manatee if witnessed by the authorities would get you in trouble. One time while on a surface interval in the shallow river a few feet from the hole, a juvenile manatee swam up to us and leaned into me like a puppy looking for attention. Magnificent creatures and curious. This goes back a few years, but check out the curiosity at 1:50, 2:13, and 3:05.
 
From FWC's Living With Manatees:

To avoid charges of harassment, DO NOT:
  • give food to manatees
  • use water to attract manatees to your boat, dock or marina (etc.) where manatees may be harmed
  • separate a cow and her calf
  • disturb manatee mating herds
  • pursue manatees or chase them from warm water sites
  • disturb resting manatees
  • hit, injure or harm manatees
  • jump on, stand on, hold on to or ride manatees
  • grab or kick manatees
  • block a manatee's path if one or more moves toward you
  • hunt or kill manatees
  • use your vessel to pursue or harass manatees
  • "fish" for or attempt to hook or catch manatees
I don't see any mention of Scuba in there and think that's something put out there to get you to snorkel with them instead.
 
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https://xf2.scubaboard.com/community/forums/cave-diving.45/

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