Lessons from an evaluation of a boater outreach program for manatee protection

Watercraft collisions account for 25-30% of manatee deaths annually in Florida. Education and outreach interventions for boaters are strategies for reducing manatee mortality. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Manatee Watch program by surveying primary boat users whose boats were approached by Manatee Watch. We compared the attitudes, knowledge, and behavioral intentions of boaters who received Manatee Watch materials with a control group of boaters observed by the Florida Marine Research Institute in Tampa Bay during 1999-2001. Results of the 51-item telephone survey with 499 boaters indicated that the Manatee Watch intervention had little effect on boater's attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors regarding manatees. However, individual attitude scores were positively correlated with safe boating behaviors in shallow waters including maintaining a slower speed and watching out for manatees. Overall knowledge about manatees was correlated with one manatee-safe boating behavior. To improve efficacy, educators should (a) incorporate evaluation into the planning stages of program development; (b) target messages to influence boaters' attitudes toward manatees and ecosystem health, and their feelings of ownership and empowerment; (c) facilitate active participation of the boaters; and (d) increase the duration and variety of intervention.