A new law is meant to get rid of boats that have been sitting in the same spot of the water for a long period of time, and as CBS News Miami’s Steve Maugeri shows us, the new rule appears to be working.
CBS News Miami did a ride along through the Biscayne Bay by Maurice Gibb Memorial Park in Miami Beach last May, right as a new law limiting how long you can anchor a boat there took effect.
But when CBS News Miami went out on the water at the start of 2026, the bay was practically empty.
“This used to be filled with the worst boats possible, and now look at it,” said Miami Beach City Commissioner David Suarez.
Suarez said he had been pushing for those law changes.
The law limits anchoring a boat in counties with 1.5 million people or more to 30 days every six months.
“If you’re a cruiser, a legitimate cruiser and you’re passing through, you have 30 days which is more than plenty of enough time to anchor and enjoy our waterways and our city and move on,” Suarez said.
Suarez said the law gives local governments more control over its waterways by letting marine patrol enforce these law changes.
“I knew this was not gonna last forever,” said Alexi Afonin, who used to live on his boat near Miami Beach.
Afonin moved his boat as soon as he heard about the new laws. Afonin said felt he was being kicked out, but understands why the changes were made.
“Something had to be done because more boats were coming, being stored and forgotten about more more,” he said. “It totally got out of hand.”
Most boaters cooperative of law changes, officials say
Miami Beach police said that so far under the new laws they’ve issued 87 citations, but no arrests have been made. For derelict vessels on the water, police have issued 45 citations and made 15 arrests.
The laws also limit how far away you can anchor from a mooring field, super yacht repair facility or private marina.
Suarez said boaters have been cooperative with the law changes.
“This is the type of anchoring we wanna see in Miami Beach,” Suarez said while showing CBS News Miami a compliant boat anchoring in the bay.
Miami Beach police did have to remove some inoperable or abandoned boats, costing the city about $140,000.
As for the people that live on boats, CBS News Miami was told many of them went to a mooring field.
At a mooring field they pay a monthly fee for getting an assigned spot, and they have access to shore if they need to use the shower or go to the store.
