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Statewide, recreational boating and its expenditures have an economic impact of more than $18 billion, making Florida the number one marine recreation destination in the country. Whether you’re fishing the backcounty, visiting local beaches, or simply cruising the waters, recreational boating is also a key element to Collier County’s coastal lifestyle.

According to the Marine Industries Association of Collier County, approximately 22,000 boats are registered within the county, not including those from other counties and states, and the boating industry contributes roughly $200 million to the local economy.

As the popularity of recreational boating grows so does competition for space and access on the water, and access to needed services and enjoyable recreational opportunities. These competing interests also require the need for improved waterway access and maintenance, greater public safety, improved boater education, and enhanced resource management.

Traditionally, planning efforts intended to manage coastal water resources focused on upland factors such as land acquisition, pollution sources, development permitting, and zoning. Geographic information that described boater traffic patterns and how they used resources stopped at the water’s edge. While there are several local, state, and federal restriction zones that affect boating access, there is a lack of information that accurately describes the recreational boating use of estuarine and coastal waters such as facilities, traffic patterns, activities, preferred water-access points and destinations.

The University of Florida’s Sea Grant Program, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, and Collier County’s Coastal Zone Management Department are collaborating on a recreational boating characterization study in Collier County. The study will provide a science-based, proactive approach to coastal resource management and will capture the concerns and needs of recreational boaters.

Researchers will attempt to reach a sample of boaters at marina and dry storage facilities as well as boat ramps and home docks by collecting vessel registration numbers and matching them with the state’s vessel/vehicle registration database. Boaters who are identified can expect to receive one or more mailed questionnaires in which they will be asked to characterize recent boating trips, provide information as to what determines their boating patterns and preferences, and discuss those issues important to them as local area boaters. Sea Grant will keep the data confidential and it will be used only for the purpose of identifying boaters for participation in this study.

Study participation will provide information as to where boaters access the water, their boating activities and destinations, and travel routes on the water. Given the growing popularity of recreational boating and its economic and lifestyle importance to Collier County, information of this kind is necessary to balance growth and access with conservation and waterway maintenance.

The boater identification component of the study is underway and the first wave of mailed questionnaires is set for September. Returned questionnaires will be tabulated into a geographic information system database. Results are then turned into maps that are compared with maps of waterways, infrastructure, natural resources and management zones.

This methodology has been used to document recreational boating patterns in eight other Florida counties, including Lee and Charlotte. An excellent questionnaire return rate, between 20 percent and 25 percent in previous counties, demonstrates that boaters desire to participate in this information gathering process to promote effective waterway management.

The boating study will have several practical applications for waterway management decisions and will help address several boating issues within the county. Specifically it will help managers and community leaders address boating access, waterway maintenance, congestion hot spots, potential user conflicts and safety management, resource protection, and education needs within the county. The baseline data collected can also improve the county’s chances of acquiring future funding for the creation and/or maintenance of county boat ramps and artificial reefs.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Coastal Zone Management Program is funding the initial two phases of the study. This includes a detailed marina and ramp inventory, identification of marina and ramp patrons, identification of boats moored at waterfront residences, design and printing of the questionnaire, and mailing of the questionnaires during two boating seasons. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Florida Boating Improvement Program is funding the final phase of the project, which will included the mailing of the third wave of questionnaires, data entry, data analysis and reporting.

For more details on the boater study, contact Bryan Fluech, Collier County Sea Grant Extension Agent with the University of Florida Extension Service at 417-6310 x204 or fluech@ufl.edu.