Recreational boat operators' self-management of biofouling in Australia

Overview
This report presents key results from a national survey of 1,585 recreational boat operators about their vessel biofouling management actions. The purpose was to inform a national communication approach to reducing the risk of marine pest translocation via biofouling of recreational boats in the Australian marine environment.

Biofouling is a term for the growth on a boat's hull that can move invasive pests and diseases from one marine environment to another, which is a biosecurity risk.

Australia's national approach to domestic marine pest biosecurity relies on voluntary uptake of the national biofouling management guidelines by recreational vessel operators, to prevent and manage biofouling growth.

Key Issues
The study found that a large proportion of recreational boat operators already undertake a range of effective biofouling management actions on a regular basis, with more than 60 per cent using best-practice approaches, such as regularly cleaning the boat hull and niche areas of the boat, renewing anti-fouling coatings each year and capturing biofouling waste after cleaning.

The majority of respondents demonstrated considerable interest in doing the right thing to protect the environment. The analysis presents opportunities to develop messaging that could be used as part of future engagement strategies with recreational boaters to influence behaviour voluntarily and promote best practice biofouling management activities.