Woods Hole Oceanographic Technical Report, WOI-98-03

ABSTRACT

Substantial impacts of boating activity discussed at this workshop include: sediment and contaminant resuspension and resultant turbidity; laceration of aquatic vegetation with loss of faunal habitat and substrate stability; toxic effects chemical emission of boat engines: increased turbulence; shearing of plankton; shorebird disturbance; and the biological effects of chemically treated wood used in dock and bulkhead construction.

These discussions revealed that many of the issues of concern remain inadequately defined and described. But sufficient hard data was referred to or presented to substantiate the inference that recreational and commercial boat operation is far from a benign influence on aquatic marine environments.

This is particularly so in temperate climes due to the unfortunate synchrony, with only a few exceptions, between peak seasons for boating and the occurrence of planktonic, embryonic and larval stages of vertebrates and invertebrates in estuaries and coastal waters.

Therefore, the chance of plants and organisms being affected by power boat operations appear to be substantial in shallow, heavily used boating areas such as those along the entire U.S. eastern and Gulf Coasts. As such, motor boat operation should be conducted and managed in such a manner as to minimize those impacts.