The Town of Palm Beach has announced a coordinated effort to clean up the Lake Worth Lagoon by identifying and removing illegal mooring buoys and other unpermitted bottom-anchored devices. The initiative supports safer navigation and directly addresses documented environmental harm to the Lagoon’s water bottoms and vital seagrass meadows. Recent county notices have warned that floating and bottom-attached structures can sink, pollute, and scar sensitive habitats, this program acts on that warning with focused fieldwork and enforcement.  
 
Unpermitted mooring systems and other bottom gear can gouge water bottoms, uproot seagrasses, and degrade nearshore habitats critical to fish, manatees, and other wildlife. The Lake Worth Lagoon Management Plan highlights seagrass as a keystone habitat and calls for actions that protect and restore it which are goals that this cleanup directly advances.  

Legal Requirements: 

• Permits are required for markers and buoys. Florida law prohibits any person or government entity from placing a uniform waterway marker, including buoys, on state waters without a permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Florida Statute 327.40
• No tying to unlawful bottom objects. It is illegal to anchor, moor, tie, or otherwise affix a vessel or floating structure to any unpermitted, unauthorized, or unlawful object affixed to the bottom of Florida waters (with a narrow exception for a private mooring on privately owned submerged lands). Florida Statute 327.4109
• Illegal markers can be removed. State rule authorizes FWC officers, sheriff’s deputies, municipal police, and other law enforcement to remove or cause the removal of any marker found in violation of Florida’s uniform waterway marker rules. FAC 68D-23.111

Town Actions: 

1. Survey & Document: Marine staff and partners will map suspected illegal moorings and bottom gear within Town waters of the Lagoon, prioritizing areas of seagrass and navigation conflicts.
2. Notice & Outreach: Identified owners will receive notice where possible, with information on safe anchoring and lawful moorings. Guidance will reference state permitting pathways for legal markers and mooring fields. FWC
3. Removal & Restoration: Unlawful devices will be removed under state enforcement authority. Sites with measurable resource damage (e.g., seagrass scarring) will be evaluated for restoration. FAC 68D-23.111
4. Ongoing Enforcement: Patrols will continue to deter re-installation and ensure compliance with anchoring distance rules near marinas, repair facilities, and public mooring fields.

How boaters can take action: 

• Anchor responsibly. Respect the state’s anchoring setbacks and avoid seagrass beds, as dragging gear over grass flats causes long-lasting scars and habitat loss.
• Don’t deploy homemade moorings. Bottom-attached devices without permits are unlawful and subject to removal. Seek lawful mooring options or transient slips instead.
• Report concerns. To report suspected illegal moorings or resource damage in Town waters, contact the Town of Palm Beach Public Safety non-emergency line at 561-838-5454 or FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline.