3.7m of us can't be wrong
The fifth survey to measure marine participation has found up to 3.7m adults take part in boating activities, compared to 3.5m in 2005.
The figure is still below the participation rate found in 2004 when 4m adults were estimated to be boating and the British Marine Federation say it is vital programmes to encourage boating are driven forward.
The survey project was expanded last year from the original BMF, Royal Yachting Association and Sunsail consortium to include the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and RNLI. The sample is now 12,000 adults and covers Northern Ireland.
A statement released by the BMF says some activities have seen changes in their participation rates that are considered significant, such as canal boating which has risen by 0.25% while PWC use has fallen by 0.21% from last years’ figure.
Canoeing, motor boating, sailing and surfing have seen rises.
The BMF say: “When analysing over the past five years, a small but steady decline is evident in the data and hence programmes to encourage boating are really important. When looking at the activities individually, only motor boating/cruising and canal boating show a trend of an increase in participation rates.”
