Seagrass scarring
Operating a vessel outside a lawfully marked channel in a careless manner that causes seagrass scarring in certain aquatic preserves is a noncriminal infraction, fined $100, then $250, $500 and $1,000 for repeat offences.
What the infraction actually is
Three things have to be true together: the vessel is outside a lawfully marked channel, it is operated in a careless manner, and that causes seagrass scarring. Then it is a noncriminal infraction, and the fine is in the penalty section.
The part that gets dropped in summaries is where. The section is written for aquatic preserves, not for the whole state, and the text read for this page does not list which preserves. So the honest version is: in a preserve this bites, and the only way to know whether you are in one is the chart and the preserve’s own boundary.
The ladder and its windows
$100, then $250, then $500, then $1,000 — which is how the fine is usually quoted, and it leaves out the clocks. The second step is for an offence within 12 months after a prior conviction, the third within 36 months, the fourth or any later one within 72 months. Without those windows the figures look like a straight escalation; with them they are a repeat-offender rule.
Refusing to post bond or to sign the boating citation is not on that ladder at all: that is a misdemeanor of the second degree.
What it means on a shallow-draft passage
Nothing on this page says anything about the water under your keel. It says what carelessly leaving a scar in a preserve costs, and that the cost rises if it happens again. For the water itself, read the chart and the preserve boundary before you cut a corner — and in the Keys the sanctuary has rules of its own that could not be read when this page was written.
Worth knowing
- Not statewide. The infraction is written for a vessel operated outside a lawfully marked channel within an aquatic preserve. Which preserves the section covers is not answered by the part read for this page, so no list of waters is given here.F.S. 253.04(3)(a)
- Carelessly, and outside a marked channel. Both halves are in the wording: operating outside a lawfully marked channel, in a careless manner that causes seagrass scarring. Running aground inside a marked channel is a different conversation.F.S. 253.04(3)(a)
- Each step of the ladder has a window. $250 for a second offence occurring within 12 months after a prior conviction, $500 for a third within 36 months, $1,000 for a fourth or subsequent offence within 72 months. Quoted without the windows, the ladder says more than the statute does.F.S. 327.73(1)(x)
- Refusing to post bond is a separate matter. A person who refuses to post bond or to sign the boating citation commits a misdemeanor of the second degree — which is no longer a noncriminal infraction.F.S. 253.04(3)(b)
- The same penalty section carries other vessel infractions. s. 327.73 is where the figures for the at-risk vessel rules stand as well; several sections of chapter 327 send their penalties there rather than naming an amount themselves.F.S. 327.73 At-risk and derelict vessels
Questions
What does it cost to scar seagrass in Florida?
$100 for a first offence, $250 for a second within 12 months of a prior conviction, $500 for a third within 36 months, and $1,000 for a fourth or subsequent offence within 72 months.
Does this apply everywhere in Florida?
No. The infraction is written for an aquatic preserve, and for a vessel operated outside a lawfully marked channel. Which preserves it covers is not answered by the part of the section read for this page.
What if I simply run aground?
The wording asks for a careless manner that causes seagrass scarring, outside a lawfully marked channel. Whether a particular grounding meets that is for whoever writes the citation; the section is the thing to read, not this page.
Where do the amounts come from?
From s. 327.73(1)(x), the noncriminal infractions section — not from 253.04 itself, which creates the infraction and sends the penalty there.
Sources & checks
- Florida Statutes 253.04 (2026) – Duty of board to protect, etc., state lands; state may join in any action brought · 21 Oct 2026
- Florida Statutes 327.73 (2026) – Noncriminal infractions · 21 Oct 2026