ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A state agency is trying to clean up St. Johns County waterways by removing abandoned boats that pose hazards for boaters and the environment. Action News Jax showed images of several boats being removed and destroyed.
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The waterways of St. Johns County are littered with images like those of sunken abandoned boats.
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A diving contractor told us these boats have been floating on the water for years and are a hazard to the community, especially active boaters trying to enjoy the waters safely.
“People abandoning these vessels just like they would throw trash on the side of the road,” the owner of DiveCome, Dive Boersma, said. “It’s becoming an environmental hazard and a hazard for navigations for other boats.”
That’s why the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced a joint effort with DiveCom to remove these abandoned boats.
“Before I came to you, we pumped about 100 gallons from a vessel prior to destroying it,” Boersma said. “That could have been 100 gallons that went into the waterways.”
“These boats are out there, and a lot of them have gasoline in them,” fisherman Tom Brajj said. “They need to get them in and drain whatever is in them out.”
Brajj was excited to see an abandoned boat taken out of the water.
“I love the water, and I love to catch fish. At least every couple of years, get all these abandoned boats out,” he said.
According to FWC, there were about 923 abandoned boats all over Florida as of December 1st of last year -- 623 of those boats were removed and destroyed.
FWC used its derelict vessel grant to complete this nearly $61,000 project. The company DiveCome is expecting to complete this job by the end of this week.
To view FWC’s interactive map showing derelict vessels throughout Florida and in our local area click here.
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