On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:07:45 -0500, "Eisboch"
wrote:

I remember reading an interesting story a few years ago regarding boat
damage to protected areas like sea grass and coral. I've forgotten the
details, but I remember the main issue.

In Admiralty Law, the responsibility for the damage stays with the boat, not
the boat's owner at the time of the occurrence. In the case involved, a
large pleasure boat caused damage to sea grass or something off the coast of
Florida. Before any legal action was taken against the owner, the boat was
sold.

The new owner was sued for the damage. He fought it in court for years but
eventually settled by paying (I think) around $20K which was a fraction of
the original monetary damages pursed by the government agency that brought
the lawsuit.

We were at Everglades Park ranger station at Flamingo (southern tip) a
few years ago and they were telling us that there was a large
sportfish stuck somewhere in Florida Bay that had been there for
months. The park service would not allow it to be salvaged unless
there was a guarantee of no sea grass damage and no one wanted to take
the risk.