The Coalition for Responsible and Sustainable Navigation

Is your organization interested in reducing the impacts of boats on water bodies? A Canada-wide group, the Coalition for Responsible and Sustainable Navigation (Coalition Navigation), recently asked OLW to share its perspective and resources with the Network. Below is the Coalition’s story, prepared by Denise Cloutier (B.B.A., M.Env.):

The Issue in a Nutshell:

Do you love boating? Are you familiar with  the impact your boat has on aquatic life?

More and more motorboat and water sports enthusiasts enjoy water experiences. These include people seeking huge waves in order to wakesurf without actually being attached to a boat.

Unfortunately, many waker surfers and motorboat users perceive water bodies as being limitless playgrounds – a bit like asphalt – to the effect that their water sports don’t have an impact on aquatic ecosystems. These same power boaters may also swim and fish on these same  water bodies.

The results are an increasing number of conflicts between recreational water users and waterfront residents.  Many of these residents want to protect the aquatic ecosystem bordering their dwelling yet they often helplessly experience their paradise degenerating  before their eyes. This occurs when the water body does not have the ecological capacity to accommodate motorboats generating powerful waves and/or large numbers of motorboats.

Aquatic life, mostly invisible to boaters, is rich in microorganisms at the base of the food chain. It supports larger organisms such as insects, fish and waterfowl. This biodiversity is especially present along a water body’s banks and shorelines. Aquatic life is significantly affected by pleasure boating. As recreational boating entails growing numbers of powerful boats, the negative impacts on biodiversity intensify.

**Alt Text:** A collage titled 1 million organisms in one drop of water displays an array of small aquatic organisms. These include a diatom measuring 0.1 mm, a rotifer at 0.2 mm, a ciliate reaching 2 mm, a dipteran larva at 0.7 mm, dragonfly larvae measuring up to 10 mm, and crappie fish spanning 12 cm in length. Photos by Sylvain Miller. **Canadian French Translation:** Un collage intitulé 1 million dorganismes dans une goutte deau montre divers petits organismes : un diatomée (0,1 mm), un rotifère (0,2 mm), un cilié (2 mm), une larve de diptère (0,7 mm), des larves de libellule (10 mm) et un crapet-soleil (12 cm). Photos par Sylvain Miller./Un collage intitulé 1 million dorganismes dans une goutte deau montre divers petits organismes : un diatomée (0,1 mm), un rotifère (0,2 mm), un cilié (2mm), une larve de diptère(7mm)mę des libellules(10mm)etn crapet-soleil(12cm). Photos par Silain Miler.
Alt text: Illustration of an aquatic food chain with labeled images. It starts with algae, followed by daphnia, insect larvae, and snail. Then it progresses to sunfish, largemouth bass, and ends with a loon, emphasizing diverse and rich aquatic life. Translation: Illustration dune chaîne alimentaire aquatique avec des images étiquetées. Elle commence par des algues, suivies de daphnies, de larves dinsectes et dun escargot. Puis elle progresse vers un crapet-soleil et un achigan à grande bouche pour finir avec un huard, mettant en valeur une vie aquatique diverse et riche.

Consequently the cravings for power boat rides, wakeboarding, tubing or wakesurfing require that motorboat operators are aware of the unwanted impacts on water bodies. This means that one must respect certain basic rules established byscientific studies.

The Coalition for Responsible and Sustainable Navigation (Coalition Navigation) aims to protect Canada’s water bodies from the major environmental impacts that increasingly powerful boats can cause. It has developed an awareness campaign and a best practices guide to ensure that boaters respect five clear and concise guidelines: 

  • Enjoy boating and protect biodiversity
  • Enjoy boating and protect the ecosystem
  • Enjoy boating and reduce erosion
  • Enjoy boating and respect local residents
  • Enjoy boating and  maintain clear water 

The campaign takes a deep dive into these issues, describing causes and suggesting solutions or desirable behaviors that help protect aquatic life in water bodies.

The Coalition Navigation‘s mission is to ensure that motorboat activity does not exceed the environmental tolerance of water bodies. The Coalition aims to raise awareness amongst boaters and improve legislative standards based on scientific bathymetric data.

Become a member of the Coalition Navigation and make a donation to support the Coalition’s actions across Canada.

Before getting in your boat and heading out on the water, make sure you are familiar with the water body’s bathymetric map. 

Two key rules to follow:

  1. With a wake/surf boat, stay at least 300 m from the shore in order to avoid bank erosion, which decreases water clarity and increases phosphorus loading, leading in turn to increased aquatic plants and algae;
  2. With a wake/surf boat, keep to spots that are at least 7 m deep to avoid stirring up bottom sediments, releasing phosphorus into the water column and accelerating eutrophication of the water body.
Alt text: A group of ducks swimming in clear, shallow water, with a rocky bottom visible. The sunlight creates patterns on the water surface. / Un groupe de canards nage dans une eau claire et peu profonde, le fond rocheux est visible. La lumière du soleil crée des motifs à la surface de leau.

For more information, visit:
https://coalitionnavigation.ca/
Or email: info@coalitionnavigation.ca

Photo credits : Denise Cloutier and Sylvain Miller (microorganisms).

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