3. Bringing Marinas Up to High Environmental Standards

There are nearly 2,000 marinas operating in Florida and hundreds of thousands of boaters use Florida’s waters every day. According to the Marine Industries Association of Florida, boating is a $14.2 billion dollar water intensive industry that includes marinas, boatyards and boaters. The effects of year-round boating activities contribute to constant and growing pressure on the state’s marine ecosystems. Clean water is essential to this multi-billion dollar industry. The Clean Boating Partnership, the original clean marina program in the nation, is a collaborative effort with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Marine Industries Association of Florida, U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Sea Grant. The goal is to improve the health and cleanliness of waterways through voluntary implementation of environmental best management practices within the state’s public and private marinas, boatyards and related facilities. Florida Sea Grant contributions have included writing the curriculum for workshops on clean marinas and clean boatyards, participating in the presentation of these workshops, and chairing committees on the partnership. As a result of this cooperative effort, certifications include 94 clean marinas and 17 clean boatyards, with about 150 more “in the pipeline.” Ten other states are now involved in clean marina programs and six more are discussing startup. Clean Marinas and Clean Boatyards estimated that since the program's inception, over 600,000 pounds of glass, 1.5 million pounds of paper, 3.7 million pounds of aluminum, 5.6 million gallons of oil, and over 1 million pounds of antifreeze were either recycled or properly handled to keep them from entering Florida waters.