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Offshore Recreational Boating Characterization In The Southeast U.S.
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2016
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[PDF-3.23 MB]
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Description:The recreational boating study described by this report resulted from a collaborative partnership between the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and the University of Florida Sea Grant Program College Program. This report documents the methods, procedures, and findings of a map-based mail survey that was distributed (October 2012) to 5,034 boaters using the offshore waters of northeast Florida and southeast Georgia region. The study seeks to obtain seasonal and spatial information about boating preferences, use profiles, travel patterns, relative seasonal abundance. Additionally, we analyzed the relative probability of co-occurrence between the North Atlantic right whales and offshore recreational vessels in the study area using information provided by the Early Warning System (EWS). Questionnaire recipients were asked to mark the start and end points of their two most recent recreational boating trips, draw the associated travel routes, and identify boating destinations and activities along these routes. They were also asked to mark destination points along with the described routes. Data collected from 958 returned surveys (19.03% overall return rate) were digitized into the ESRI ArcGIS geographic information system (GIS). This translated to a sample of 2,522 trip departure sites and travel routes and 1,881 boating destinations. It is this spatial representation that serves to distinguish this study from previous efforts to characterize (i.e., profile and describe) boating patterns. Boaters drew hundreds of individual seasonal boating trips on provided maps. This spatial information and linked attributes were then entered into a GIS. Further descriptive data about the mapped trips, such as timing and vessel type, and independent data about the respondent’s typical boating trips, including preferences determining departure sites and travel routes, and frequency, can be linked to the data within the GIS, for further analysis. Information products generated from this study include: 1. A profile of boaters who access offshore and inlet areas in the northeast Florida and southeast Georgia region for recreation 2. A profile of the types of recreational vessels operated on offshore and at inlet areas in the study area 3. A description of boater preferences as to waterway access facility amenities 4. A summary of principal problems and needs perceived by offshore recreational boaters in the study area 5. An estimation of the relative seasonal abundance of offshore recreational vessels 6. Spatial data formatted within a GIS that can be used to map: a. service areas for boating facilities b. departure or launch sites c. water-based boating destinations d. distribution and overlap of recreational vessel with other maritime activities and/or wildlife 7. An evaluation of seasonal aspects for many of the information products listed above. This report is divided into four parts. Part 1 discusses the survey design, mailing implementation, and data collection. Part 2 presents the results of a statistical analysis of survey questions and compares seasonal differences in use among survey respondents. Part 3 presents the results of spatial analyses of offshore and inlet use patterns. A GIS density function identifies travel corridors and boating destinations. Statistically significant “hot spots” and autocorrelations on the recreational boating trips are identified. A capture-recapture analysis is presented at the end of Part 2, which allows the estimation of the seasonal relative abundance estimate of offshore recreational vessel. Par 4 presents the result of the relative probability of co-occurrence between recreational vessels and the North Atlantic right whales using the sightings per unit effort (SPUE) method.
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Sea Grant Document Number:FLSGP-T-16-002
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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