On 7/21/2023 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement was dispatched to a dead manatee call at 4:19 PM. The complainant reported to the FWCC North Central Dispatch that he was driving his boat down the Inter-Coastal Waterway (ICW) south of J. Turner Butler Blvd bridge and north of the Duval / St. Johns County line at an approximate speed of 35 miles per hour when he struck a manatee. OP1 claimed to be in channel when he struck the manatee. There was a second manatee that was uninjured and had a tracking buoy on it.
OP1 attempted to stay with the injured manatee for as long as possible as it drifted into the West bank of the ICW. Due to the downward tide OP1 left the area in order to inspect his vessel. OP1's vessel is a 2022, 39 ft Contender bearing documentation numbers. I spoke with OP1 over the phone where provided the exact location of the manatee and confirmed that there were no injuries on board his vessel. He also informed me that he thought one of his motors may have been damaged. 
Officers got on a near by vessel in order to find the manatee. We found the manatee north of the Duval / St. Johns County line. The manatee was on the West bank of the ICW in the mud.
On 7/24/2023 I took photographs of the vessel and got a written statement from OP1. The vessel was at Mobile Express repair shop in Old Mayport. The repair shop attendant informed me that one of the vessel's motors had damage to the lower unit and the other motors had minor damage as well. He said the repair could cost $7,500.
All photographs, diagrams and the written statement are in the attachments section of this report. An Incident Summary Report has also be completed.

ICW
JACKSONVILLE                  