HOW THE H.U.L.A. ALERT PROJECT WAS BORN
H.U.L.A. STANDS FOR '' HEADS UP. LOOK AHEAD. ''

As one of the first families to live on Anna Maria Island and Cortez Village, each generation, my grandfather, father, uncle, my brothers and I have spent our lives fishing and crabbing the Gulf and Bays of Southwest Florida. My childhood memories are of the blue green waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the steel gray of thunderhead rolling across Sarasota Bay, the wonder of watching mother dolphin tossing mullet in the air teaching their young to feed, and the sight of a pod of manatees swimming gracefully just below the surface of the bay.

Both of my children, Matthew and Sadge, grew up surrounded by this natural beauty. The bays and estuaries, wadding shorebirds, fish and shellfish,wildlife and marine life, tropical trees and palms are the landscape of their youth,the backdrop of our lives. One beautiful summer day when Sadge was about four, we went fishing. It was a perfect afternoon. We fished Upper Sarasota Bay on the east side of the Longboat Key Bridge and Pass. The water was still as we drifted. We saw movement in the water and a large pod of manatees...male and female...young and old rolled and played and searched for food. They fed on the sea grass that thrives on the north end of Jewfish Key just inside the Intracoastal Waterway.

Sadge was fascinated by the babies; they seemed so small next to the bull manatee. We were able to watch them quietly for hours and we both knew this was a very special time. I remember wondering how something so big could be so gracefull...and yet so vulnerable.

This sad truth became real for us when the day ended and we approached the boat ramp on the southern bayside of Coquina Beach. We both saw the dead manatee floating upside down. There was no way to protect her from the horrible sight of the large animal being dragged from the water to be buried or from seeing all of the propeller cuts that killed it.

She vowed tearfully that one day she was going to be able to help manatees, and keep them safe. For weeks I tried to distract her from the thought of the manatee that had been killed by a boater that never new it was near.

Sadge is nineteen now, and leaving home for college. We fish together often. She never forgot what she saw, and never lost her resolve to make our waters safer for manatees. In early May of 2006, on our way to our family business, Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant, the Cortez Bridge was raised for several sailboats to go through. We were second in line at the top of the bridge. As I looked south, just inside the channel, I saw a saw a small cluster of manatees so close to the surface they were plainly visible to all of us and to the sailors on the sailboats moving quietly under the bridge. Sadge and I stepped out of our vehicle to watch the manatees when a large powerboat cut through the group at high speed and hit a small manatee. I prayed that she had missed it all. But when I turned to her I saw the face of my four year old daughter in tears again, I could not shield her from this senseless loss.

On that day the H.U.L.A. ALERT PROJECT was born. Sadge voiced the idea that there should be highly visible warning system for boaters to know when manatees are swimming in a certain area. The flags we ask boaters and waterfront homeowners to fly bear her art work, the culmination of years of thought and desire to protect manatees.

H.U.L.A. News

January 16th, 2007
::: SITE IS LIVE!

Welcome to the new HulaAlertProject.com! Please Help us in our mission to protect the beautiful Manatee. Fly the Flag. Save A Life!

January 16th, 2007
::: Our Store is Open!

The H.U.L.A. online store is now open for business. Please visit the "Store" link to purchase your Flag and
T-shirts today. We accept PayPal and major credit cards.