While area beaches remain closed, spoil islands such as Snake Island, owned by the West Coast Inland Navigation District remain open because theyre technically private property.

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SARASOTA COUNTY Despite beach closures, boaters were able to congregate this weekend at Snake Island, located at the end of Venice Inlet, and other spoil islands technically owned by the West Coast Inland Navigation District, as well as offshore sandbars.

Venice officials have reached out to the district about closing down the island, something that neither the city nor county marine patrol officers can do, unless the district asks for their help.

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Venice Marine Patrol Officer Paul Joyce noted that Snake Island is considered private property even though its technically owned by a public entity, the West Coast Inland Navigation District.

Venice resident Chris Stocke sent a photo of boaters moored near, or beached on, the island to Venice Mayor Rod Feinsod, raising his concerns about the situation.

With the beaches closed, restaurants closed, social distancing, most of us staying home, etc., the partying goes on as normal on Snake Island, Stocke wrote. In my view, this is totally unacceptable and should be stopped as beach-going has.

Feinsod, who has fielded emails from people frustrated by beach closures as well as those who are happy that theyre closed and want to see social distancing enforced more thoroughly, said he hopes the WCIND will ask for help in closing Snake Island and other spoil island areas.

Theyre creating a place where people can gather and, in my opinion, if theres a place where people can gather, they will gather, Feinsod said.

Justin McBride, the executive director of the West Coast Inland Navigation District, was working from home because of social distancing and did not respond to an email asking whether the district would make an attempt to close the spoil islands.

Because of its location near the mouth of the Venice Inlet and near the Crows Nest Marina, Snake Island is one of the more easily observed of the spoil islands created when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Intracoastal Waterway in the 1960s.

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Other well-known islands include Big Edwards Island, Little Edwards Island and Skiers Island, south of the Siesta Key Bridge.

In addition to spoil islands, boaters can moor on large sandbars such as the ones on the south side of Big Pass, north side of New Pass, and the Jewfish Key sandbar, east of Longboat Pass.

Beer Can Beach, a northern extension of Longboat Key, once known as Beer Can Island but now patrolled as a preserve by the city of Longboat Key, is another popular place for boaters to anchor and socialize.

Joyce said, just as with a sandbar at low tide, city, county and state law enforcement do not have jurisdiction on Snake Island and other spoil islands.

Still, law enforcement officials have been doing their best to encourage the revelers to be safe.

Were asking everybody to police themselves, heed the warnings from the president and governor, keep your six-foot distance apart from each other, Joyce said.

Snake Island photos shared on Facebook by Donna Stocke from both Saturday and Sunday also show watercraft from both the Venice Marine Patrol and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on the outer edge of the moored boats.

There were a few groups of people that were hanging out together more than 10, but most of those people were close friends or family or something like that, Joyce said.

Until WCIND asks for intervention, local law enforcement can only monitor the situation.

Longboat Key Pass

Along the 10-mile stretch of Longboat Key from the New Pass Bridge to Longboat Pass Bridge, boaters have anchored at sandbars and offshore. Other barrier island locals walk to the beach on Longboat Key and near Beer Can Island to set up chairs.

The beach itself is open, according to Longboat Key Police spokeswoman Tina Adams. But all public beach accesses on Longboat Key are closed. However, those boaters and beach patrons who were on Beer Can Island were doing so in violation of current county beach closures. If they moved south, just about a mile south they would not be in violation.

We would like to reiterate to the public that Greer Island, also known as Beer Can Island, is a Manatee County park and remains closed to all boating and foot traffic, Adams said. This park is located at the north end of Longboat Key. Town of Longboat Key Police will monitor the public beach accesses.

All Longboat Key beach accesses are blocked with traffic barricades and marked with a small sign that says Public Beach Access Closed, noting the danger of COVID-19. It says for more information visit LongboatKey.org.

Other cities on Anna Maria Island also have closed beach accesses but not the beaches. Beachgoers may use the beaches if they follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines and space at least 10 feet apart and limit groups to no more than 10 people.

Cars were parked on both sides of the road on the north side of the Longboat Pass Bridge, which is the right of way. A Bradenton Beach Police officer searched for vehicle owners in the immediate vicinity and issued warnings to others for illegally parking there.

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Coronavirus Florida: Concern raised over boat access to spoil islands - Sarasota Herald-Tribune