Florida's new ‘Boater Freedom Act' could be boon for illegal poachers, critics say

Miami Herald

19-07-2025

A measure prohibiting vessel searches that stem from safety inspections on the water is among a slew of laws to be enacted in Florida this week.
It halts a long-running practice in which state and local marine law enforcement could stop boaters and board their vessels without probable cause.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says long-standing vessel searches have 'unnecessarily created friction' between boaters and law enforcement. The governor signed the bill, which he has dubbed the Boater Freedom Act, at a May news conference in Panama City Beach.
'If you're walking down the street, law enforcement can't just go up to you and stop you and search you,' DeSantis said. 'But, yet, on the water, that really isn't the case.'
Opponents of the measure say it takes away a major tool for enforcing fishing rules and deterring poachers — random cooler searches. They worry that fish populations carefully monitored by state biologists could subsequently dwindle.
DeSantis and state Sen. Jay Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who sponsored the bill, have said they expect a different outcome. They predict law enforcement will be free to spend more time and resources going after the few bad actors who are boating recklessly and endangering others on the water.
'It's about trusting the vast majority of Floridians who are doing the right thing and letting law enforcement officers focus on those who are truly violating the law,' Trumbull said at the same news conference. 'We're not removing oversight. We're reinforcing fairness.'
'Bag limits are irrelevant' under law
For Matt DePaolis, the environmental policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation in Southwest Florida, the new law favors boaters' rights over protection of the state's marine ecosystem.
'It's a real worry that it will be much easier to get away with poaching now, because it is very difficult to catch someone in the act,' DePaolis said. 'Having the ability to go and do a quick check seemed like an important enforcement mechanism.'
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency tasked with managing fish populations by setting catch limits and season lengths, is also responsible for upholding those rules through its law enforcement arm. The agency has endorsed DeSantis' initiative and is expected to issue guidance on the new law.
Capt. Matthew DallaRosa, a supervisor for the wildlife agency's Tampa Bay area branch, said he isn't concerned that the law will impede officers' ability to enforce marine rules.
'We've always conducted regulatory inspections,' DallaRosa said. 'We've adjusted to a million changes. I don't see any significant impact.'
DePaolis said he would expect the wildlife agency to reduce bag limits if biologists observe a decline in populations.
'If they feel confident that they're able to correctly manage fishery stocks even with this bill, that's great,' he said. 'But I would still be worried that this is an important tool in managing healthy fisheries and stopping poaching that is now being taken away.'
Alan S. Richard, a former captain for the wildlife commission and maritime law adjunct professor at Florida State University, recalled one safety inspection he conducted in 1984. He was relieving another officer from his post when he saw a boat spot their patrol vessel and sharply turn away, cutting across the flats where it could have easily run aground.
That maneuver wasn't illegal, but it was suspicious, Richard said. He stopped the boater and waited for backup to arrive. Under the deck, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 486 pounds of cocaine.
'That just wouldn't have happened under this new law,' he said.
Richard called the measure an 'abomination' and said he expects it will be repealed in a future legislative session after lawmakers realize their mistake.
He was careful not to speculate on how the wildlife agency and county courts will interpret the law but said it would make officers' jobs more difficult — whether that be upholding public safety, busting drug runners or catching poachers.
The law undermines the state's conservation efforts, Richard added.
'Bag limits are irrelevant if you can't stop a boat and check them,' he said.
Private lawyers who defend those accused of fishing violations expect to see fewer charges filed and even fewer that stick.
'We've had clients where ... they've caught something they shouldn't,' said Ranger Jackson, a Pinellas criminal defense attorney. 'And if this law was in effect, that wouldn't have gotten off the ground.'
But Jackson said fears that the law gives boaters 'carte blanche' to catch 'whatever illegal fish you want' are unfounded.
'If you're violating law, if your registration isn't up to date, if you're violating the wake zones, if you're anchored to something that you're not supposed to be, then you can still run into problems,' he said.
The search law also seems to apply only to enforcement on the water. It's likely that wildlife officers would keep the power to conduct random searches on boaters returning to public boat ramps as well as those fishing from shore, Jackson said.
'There's guardrails that are in effect,' he said.
Springs, seagrass threatened
Environmental groups have taken issue with other parts of the law, including language that raises the bar for creating protection zones for springs that impose restrictions on speed, anchoring, mooring, beaching and grounding boats.
Under previous rules, the wildlife agency must prove recreational boat use is harming a sensitive spring area to limit boating there. The law will make it so the agency must now prove there is 'significant harm' and that boating is the main cause of that damage.
It has already cast a chilling effect over consideration of a protection zone at one north Florida spring after the wildlife agency pulled its proposal in the wake of the legislation.
Other parts of the law preempt local governments from banning 'the sale or use' of gas-powered boats. DeSantis cited a California rule — blocked by the Senate in May — that seeks to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
DePaolis, the environmental policy director, said he's worried the law could be stretched to do away with boat engine restrictions on environmentally sensitive land like manatee zones, seagrass beds and bird rookeries.
'If you're saying now that you can't differentiate between energy sources, then it seems like you can't make a canoe or kayak or paddle or sailing-only area,' he said. 'So now it's really going to restrict the ability of recreation.'
It's the vague language of the bill and its uncertain implications for fisheries and conservation that gives DePaolis pause.
'Boating is about freedom. Florida is about freedom. It's great to not have to worry about the cops breathing down your neck,' he said. 'But at the same time, our environment is a shared resource, and we have tools to manage it. Until we are managing it effectively, we need to be able to utilize those tools.'