Recreational Boating Overview Presentation to HRSP May 2010 Susan Shingledecker

Overview Who is BoatU.S.? Overview of recreational boating/boaters How do rec boaters interact with NOAA? Hydrographic needs of rec boaters Recreational boating in Hawaii

Who is BoatU.S.? Boat Owners Association of the United States Over half a million members Membership, Insurance, Towing, Consumer Protection, Government Affairs and BoatU.S. Foundation

Who are recreational boaters? 17 million recreational boats in the U.S. 1 in 10 U.S. households owns a boat. In Million adults, or 32% of all adults went boating 79% of boat owners - average household income of less than $100,000 (Source: NMMA Policy Brief)

Recreational Boating and the Economy In 2009 $30.8 billion spent on sales and service alone Boat-related spending totaled 10.8 billion in 2009, boating trip spending in 2007 totaled billion In 2007 rec boating impacted 337,758 jobs with a labor income of $10.4 billion. Nearly 19,000 boating businesses employ more than 154,000 US workers (Source: NMMA Policy Brief)

Registered Boats in the U.S. 7%

Boats under 16 ft

Boats ft

Boats ft

Boats 40 ft +

Rec boaters & NOAA NESDIS - COSPAS – SARSAT – EPIRB activation and boating safety NMFS – recreational fishing and protected species NWS – Marine forecasts and hurricane forecasts OOAR – El Nino/La Nina, Invasive species, hurricane research and observing systems

Rec boaters & NOAA NOS Charts, tides, currents, water levels, ocean observing systems, marine protected areas, marine spatial planning, oil spills, marine debris Depending on the size of your boat – charts and navigation may or may not be an issue. Weather and water observations – vital.

Rec boaters in Hawaii Roughly 15,000 registered recreational boats in Hawaii. (less than.1% of all U.S. rec boats) Boating infrastructure is in disrepair Boats are older and larger than national average most in the 20 – 55 ft range with most around ft Deep water, open ocean, fewer safe harbors, requires more experience

Hawaii boaters and NOAA Water gets deep quickly, charting is pretty good with the exception of a few small harbors NOAA does a great job with tsunami warnings. This year 8 hours of notice to get boats out of the harbor.

Questions? Susan Shingledecker AVP & Director of Environmental Programs BoatU.S. Foundation 147 Old Solomons Island Rd., Ste 513 Annapolis, MD (703) x8358