Attention shoreline property owners:  You can increase awareness of manatees throughout coastal areas of Alabama and Mississippi by requesting a FREE manatee dock sign. 

As a public service, DISL’s Manatee Sighting Network is offering free manatee public awareness signs to waterfront property owners in Alabama and Mississippi. The aluminum dock sign is 24" x 18" in size and can be displayed on private boat docks or pilings.  The bold yellow sign reads, "Slow Please -- Report Manatees” and provides the local phone number to report manatee sightings (1-866-493-5803) 24 hours. Its contrasting yellow and black colors are designed to alert boaters that manatees may be present in local waterways and to create public awareness that these gentle animals reside in our waters. 

In the past, waterfront residents have had to post signs displaying Florida information only.  The signage program is available for the first time for Alabama-Mississippi residents. “There are no known manatee deaths due to boat strikes in Alabama waters, and we hope the new signage program will help maintain this record of success as well as continue to remind everyone to support our research program by reporting manatee sightings to our network,” said Dr. Ruth Carmichael, Senior Marine Scientist at DISL.  Boat strikes are the number one cause of death in manatees in the U.S.

This is NOT a regulatory sign; it can only be posted on private structures. The signs were funded by DISL’s Manatee Sighting Network partners at US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Save the Manatee Club.

Waterproof boat decals with the same message are also available to area boaters.  The decals are a great way to keep the network’s contact information handy while on the water, should a manatee sighting occur.  The network processes and records every manatee sighting that is reported by the public each year and has processed nearly 700 manatee sighting reports since 2007, many of which have come from boaters. 
If you are a shoreline property owner and/or boater and would like to receive the free sign or decal, please call DISL’s Manatee Sighting Network toll-free at 1-866-493-5803 or send an e-mail to manatee@disl.org.  Signs are free; however, donations are appreciated to help offset shipping cost and supplies.  All donations are tax-deductible.