Navigation software produced by Garmin is the first to feature manatee and homeland security zones in Tampa Bay – thanks to a partnership between Garmin, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Manatee Awareness Coalition (MAC).

The information is available on all new Garmin GPS chart plotters, as well as on the navigation chips (SD cards) that boaters can buy to update their existing chart plotters.

Boaters using the updated electronic charts will see manatee zone boundaries highlighted as they scroll over portions of Tampa Bay where slow speed zones have been established, such as Old Tampa Bay, and the Manatee River. Homeland security zones – including those around MacDill Air Force Base and the Port of Tampa -- also are displayed on the chart plotter. In addition, the software tells boaters whether the area is idle or slow speed or no-entry, and also whether speed restrictions are seasonal or year-round.

The Garmin product is the first to show manatee zones anywhere in Florida. Currently, only manatee and security zones in Tampa Bay are available, but Garmin expects to add zones in other Florida waterways to future software updates.

The pilot project in Tampa Bay was a joint effort of Garmin, the FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and TBEP’s Manatee Awareness Coalition. MAC members and FWRI’s mapping experts began discussing the concept more than a year ago, and approached several Electronic Navigation Chart manufacturers with the idea. Garmin is the first, and so far only, company to incorporate the information in their GPS chart plotters. The digital files showing the zones were provided by FWRI.