Reducing Coastal Pollution
Clean Marinas: Good for Business, Good for the Environment
July 27, 2011
Contact: Linda Joy, 301 734-1165
If spring turns our thoughts to love, then summer turns them to water. And while millions of us flock to the coasts, NOAA Sea Grant's thoughts turn to cleanliness. Clean marinas, to be specific.
Sea Grant programs, which are partnerships between NOAA’s Office of Oceanic Atmospheric Research and universities in coastal and Great Lakes states, support sustainable use and conservation of coastal resources through research, education, and outreach. When it comes to marinas, Sea Grant education efforts have helped marina owners and operators adopt science-based management strategies so that peak summer crowds do not permanently harm sensitive marine environments. Sea Grant also encourages marinas to take steps to help boaters understand how to minimize their impact on the environment.
NOAA Sea Grant and NOAA’s National Ocean Service support the Clean Marina Initiative, a voluntary program that encourages marina operators and recreational boaters to protect coastal water quality. Many coastal states recognize marinas that meet a set of environmental stewardship standards (best management practices) with a “Clean Marina” declaration and allow use of a state clean marina logo and flag. Clean Marina certification typically lasts for five years, after which marinas can be recertified.
“Many marina businesses are struggling during these tough economic times. Becoming a Clean Marina provides a competitive edge,” says Elizabeth LaPorte of Michigan Sea Grant, which manages the Green Marina Great Lakes Restoration Initiative project. “Clean Marina operators recognize the importance of providing boaters with a positive experience, and boaters are increasingly aware of the connection between stewardship best practices, good water quality for swimming, as well as healthy fisheries and beaches.”
The Clean Marina Initiative developed after Congress established the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program in 1990 as a way to help states meet the program’s marina management requirements. Marina Dockage magazine conducts an annual survey of state Clean Marina programs, explains Anne Smith, a marine technical advisory specialist for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. She monitors Clean Marina statistics too in her role as Clean Marina certifier for the state of Virginia. Based on the December 2010 Marina Dockage survey and Smith’s updates, more than 1,100 marinas in coastal and Great Lakes states have been certified as Clean Marinas, and now 25 states have Clean Marina certification programs.
NOAA Sea Grant programs deserve a lot of the credit for the success of the Clean Marinas Initiative. Sea Grant programs have assisted 569 marina owners in meeting Clean Marina certification requirements, and Sea Grant programs in 11 states are key partners in the states’ Clean Marinas programs. They promote the benefits of participating and educate marina and boat owners about practices that protect the marine environment through public outreach (e.g., newsletters, websites, media) as well as through on-the-ground extension efforts in coastal communities.
“Sea Grant Extension is very active across the country in implementing and assisting with the Clean Marina Initiative. On a national level the efforts of Sea Grant with respect to the Clean Marina Program are very visible at national conferences such as the States Organization for Boating Access and the International Marina and Boatyard Conference,” Smith says.
“In Virginia, the Clean Marina Program is housed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Marine Advisory Services in partnership with Virginia Sea Grant. Some state Sea Grant Programs house the program directly while other states receive support from Sea Grant in the form of education and outreach services,” she explains.
Michigan Sea Grant, for example, works with the state’s boating industry association and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to support the Michigan Clean Marina program. Michigan Sea Grant recently launched a statewide outreach campaign to recruit new marinas to join the state’s Clean Marina Initiative. It has developed all of the outreach and training materials, including the Clean Marina Classroom training course that incorporates photos and videos of best practices. Each marina is required to complete the course, which covers both mandatory (regulatory) and recommended practices and procedures to control petroleum, handle sewage, manage storm water, and address other issues that impact water quality. Participants take the course online and work at their own pace.
Michigan Sea Grant also partners with BoatUS, a national boat owners association, on the distribution of recycling bins for monofilament fishing lines to marinas and state parks in Michigan. Boater education materials on sewage handling and invasive species are distributed with the recycling bins. Michigan is also leading a Great Lakes regional green marina project (supported by the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative), which includes developing best practices for the entire region, revising the Clean Marina Classroom as a regional training tool and fostering a Great Lakes Clean Marina Outreach Network.
Along with educating marina owners and operators, Sea Grant programs encourage boat owners to adopt environmentally friendly practices that go hand-in-hand with the Clean Marina Initiative. Many Sea Grant programs offer clean boating tip sheets and brochures. Texas Sea Grant developed a Clean Boater brochure and pledge. Sea Grant programs in Ohio, New York, and Virginia have a clean boating pledge form too. Signers agree to keep oil, sewage, toxic boat cleaning and maintenance products, plastics, cigarette butts and other trash, fishing gear, and invasive species out of the water.
Virginia Sea Grant is taking the clean-boating message to a relatively new social media outlet – YouTube. It has produced an engaging two-part video series, Bling My Boat, which shows how boaters can select environmentally friendly cleaning products, paints, and sealants. It also illustrates best practices for operating a boat and emptying sewage holding tanks.
As coastal population and development have increased dramatically in recent decades, so has the toll on sensitive shoreline environments. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that 12.4 million recreational boats were registered in 2010. The good news is that as the numbers of certified Clean Marinas and Clean Boater pledges climb, the usual pollutants from recreational boating – petroleum, sewage, paints and sealants, and other trash – are reduced.
NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at www.noaa.gov and join us on Facebook, Twitter, and our other social media channels.
On the Web:
National Sea Grant College Program
NOAA Ocean and Coastal Resource Management Clean Marina program