A Recreational Boating Characterization of Brevard County
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A Recreational Boating Characterization of Brevard County

   

A Recreational Boating Characterization of Brevard County1

Charles Sidman, Tim Fik, Robert Swett, Bill Sargent, James Fletcher, Susan Fann, David Fann, Alisa Coffin2

Abstract

Brevard County faces the difficult yet critical management challenge of how to sustain economic viability while maintaining the integrity of its coastal environmental resources. Recreational boating and waterway access figure prominently within this multi-faceted challenge. The County recognizes that effective coastal community planning requires the availability of pertinent and accurate information concerning on-water activities, using best technology and scientific methods. A recreational boating use study was, therefore, recommended as a means to document and map present marine facility and waterway usage in support of Brevard County's Comprehensive Maritime Management Master Plan effort. The recreational boating study described by this report resulted from a collaborative partnership between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Brevard County Department of Natural Resources, the University of Florida Brevard County Cooperative Extension Program, and the University of Florida Sea Grant College Program.

This report documents the methods, procedures, and results of a map-based mail survey that was distributed in three waves (June/July 2006, November 2006, and March 2007) to 11,916 Brevard County boaters (some participating boaters received up to three questionnaires over the year-long study period) to obtain seasonal information about their boating preferences, use profiles, and travel patterns. Boaters were categorized according to the type of facility that they used to access the waterway: marina wet slip, marina dry storage, public ramp, and private dock.

Questionnaire recipients were asked to mark the start and end point of their last two recreational boating trips, draw their travel routes, and identify their favorite boating destinations and primary activities that they engaged in at destinations. Data collected from 3,367 returned surveys over the three survey waves (2,480 of which were associated with unique users) were digitized into the ESRI ArcGIS geographic information system (GIS). This translated to a sample of 6,307 travel routes, 6,307 trip departure sites (origins), 7,437 favorite boating destinations, and 2,907 locations of perceived congestion, and represented an overall return rate of 19%.

This study differs from previous efforts to characterize (i.e., profile and describe) boating patterns in its spatial approach. Thousands of individual boating trips were described and drawn by boaters on maps. The spatial information was then entered into a GIS. The descriptive data about boaters' trips, including preferences for selecting trip departure sites, destinations, and travel routes, favorite activities, vessel types, and the timing, duration, and frequency of trips 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 use Brevard County waterways for recreation;

  2. A profile of the types of recreational vessels operated on Brevard County waterways;

  3. A description and location of the types of recreational activities that take place on Brevard County waterways;

  4. A description of boater preferences for waterway access facility amenities (e.g., marinas and ramps);

  5. A summary of principal detractors and needs related to Brevard County waterways;

  6. Spatial data formatted within a GIS that can be used to map service areas for Brevard County boating facilities; departure or launch sites; favorite water-based boating destinations and the activities that occur there; trip routes that define where Brevard County boaters travel on the water; areas of perceived waterway congestion

  7. An evaluation of seasonal aspects for many of the information products listed above.

This report is divided into three 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 users of marinas (wet slips and dry storage facilities), ramps, and private docks. In addition, a content analysis of the two open-ended questions that asked about "detractors" and "needs" identifies important issues from the perspective of the Brevard County boating community. Part 3 presents the results of spatial analyses of land-side and water-side use patterns.

First, ramp and marina facility patronage was evaluated and mapped. Second, a GIS density function identified travel corridors, favorite destination locales and areas of perceived congestion. Last, the Getis & Ord G-Statistic was employed to identify and map seasonal use patterns of boating destination "hot-spots" indicated by survey respondents.

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Footnotes

1. A publication of the University of Florida Sea Grant Program (project number 00059154). The project was funded by Brevard County through the University of Florida Brevard County Extension program, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Boating and Waterways Section, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the Florida Coastal Management Program, pursuant to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration award number NA04NOS41900129 with additional support from the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the State of Florida, NOAA or any of their sub agencies.

Originally published as TP 160, October 2007.

2. Charles Sidman, Florida Sea Grant, PO Box 110400, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0400; csidman@ufl.edu.

Timothy Fik, Department of Geography, PO Box 117315, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7315; fik@geog.ufl.edu.

Robert Swett, Florida Sea Grant and the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, PO Box 110400, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0400; rswett@ufl.edu.

Bill Sargent, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 100 Eighth Avenue SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5095; Bill.Sargent@MyFWC.com.

James Fletcher, Director, Brevard County Agriculture and Extension Services, 3695 Lake Drive, Florida 32926-4219; jhfr@ufl.edu.

Susan Fann, 1716 NW 16TH PL, Gainesville, FL, 32605-4057; smfann@ufl.edu.

David A. Fann, Florida Sea Grant, PO Box 110400, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0400; dafann@ufl.edu.

Alisa Coffin, Department of Geography, PO Box 117315, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7315; acoffin@ufl.edu.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

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