FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Coral Gables health care executive who had been fined for speeding in a boat in a manatee-protection zone was named this week to the Florida board in charge of protecting wildlife.
Albert Maury, chief executive officer of Leon Medical Centers, which is a major Republican contributor, was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to the board of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The commission’s board members, who serve without pay, supervise the agency in charge of hunting, fishing and wildlife protection. For the past year, the plight of manatees has been high on the commission’s agenda, as loss of seagrass to pollution caused a record number to starve to death.
Maury was cited on May 29, 2005, for driving a Boston Whaler at excessive speed in a manatee-protection zone in Coon Key Pass near Marco Island, according to Collier County court records. He was fined $65. The citation was issued by an officer of the state wildlife commission.
Slow-speed zones have been established in areas used by manatees to protect them from being hit by boats. Last year 103 manatees were killed by boats, and the vast majority of manatees have scars from their encounters with watercraft, according to the wildlife commission.
Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director of the Center for Biological Diversity, which has filed lawsuits to protect manatees, said Maury’s experience could make him a better advocate for manatees.
“What a great opportunity he has to be a manatee advocate, as someone who has been, hopefully, educated and reformed through the experience of violating a manatee speed zone,” she said. “Hopefully, he’ll understand just how special manatees are, how much we care about them and how much education still needs to be done for our boaters to all be aware of the consequences of speeding through manatee habitat.”
Maury’s appointment to the wildlife commission, which is subject to confirmation by the Senate, was announced Thursday by the governor’s office. He previously served on the board of Florida International University.
Maury could not be reached for comment Friday morning. The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Leon Medical Centers, which serves Medicare patients, has contributed more than $200,000 to the Republican Party of Florida, according to campaign finance records.
The protection of manatees has been a top priority of the wildlife commission over the past two years, as the loss of seagrass to water pollution caused them to starve to death in record numbers. The wildlife commission has been worked with the federal government in an unprecedented effort to feed them lettuce, in an initiative that’s likely to take place again next season.
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