Research Titles
Disturbance to Wildlife
Boat Traffic – An investigation into the impact of boat movement
on local populations of marine wildlife around Black Head,
Falmouth*
Mitigations – An investigation into the impact of awareness
raising programmes on changing recreational boaters/commercial
boaters behaviour near wildlife.
Speed – An investigation into the relationship between propeller
noise, boat speed and disturbance of birdlife in Scottish
Lochs*
Anchoring and Mooring - An investigation into the difference
between the relative impact of moorings compared to static pontoons
on benthic habitats.
Boat Cleaning and Sewage
Toxicity – An investigation into the relative impact of
environmentally friendly boat cleaners on marine ecosystems
compared to standard cleaners and bleaches.
Discharges – An investigation into the nutrient (and/or
bacterial discharges) from recreational boating at specific events
e.g. regattas, race meets* etc and a comparison with background
levels.
Discharges – An investigation into the volume and content of
grey water discharges into the marine environment from boats in X
Marina/Hamble River*.
Resource Efficiency
Fuel Use Data – An investigation into fuel use in marine engines
comparing perfect condition fuel use to real life.
Energy Consumption – An investigation into the trends and causes
of trends of power use in the production yachts and motorboats.
Boat Production – An investigation into the energy consumption
for boat manufacture in the UK.
Boat Production – A life cycle analysis of a standard 36-42ft
yacht in the UK.
Boat Production – An investigation into the quantity and type of
raw materials used in boat production in the UK and an analysis of
replacement materials. (This could be extended to cover the UK
fleet which includes a lot of boats manufactured overseas.)
Boat Production – An investigation into the number of end of
life hulls (and their age) in the UK* and make up of the waste
stream.
Antifoul
Inland waterways – An investigation (using primary and existing
data) into the influence of antifoul (and its derivatives) on water
quality on the inland waterways of the Norfolk Broads*.
Coast Environments – An investigation (using primary and
existing data) into the influence of antifoul (and its derivatives)
on water quality in coastal environments in the Pembrokeshire
National Park*.
Antifoul development – An investigation into (the impact of
market factors including copper pricing on) antifouling paint
development and future trends in the UK and global markets.
Alien Species – An investigation into the role of the
recreational boating sector in the transfer of invasive species in
Wales*.
*Other locations are welcome.
Knowledge Gaps
The Green Blue would like to see scientific research carried out
in the following areas to help plug the gap in some of our fields
of knowledge.
Antifouling
- Leach rates: what are the leach rates for different types of
antifouling e.g. bonded (e.g. Copperbot) compared to hard compared
to soft antifoulings. Does bonded copper antifouling deposit less
copper into the water over its lifecycle? How do leach rates
compare under pressure washing?
- Loading: What is the volume of copper coming from recreational
craft and is this significant in the context of copper entering the
marine environment from other sources e.g. sewage works, run-off
from land, storm drains, roads etc
- ‘New types’ of antifouling: are there any likely adverse
effects from new ‘environmentally friendly’ types of paint now
appearing on the market on aquatic life? E.g. those containing
teflon, silicon etc
- What is the cost of not removing fouling e.g. increased fuel
usage and engine wear due to higher revs, more noticeable wash,
risk of transferring alien species etc?
- Do different marine environments support more/less amounts of
copper e.g. mud, sand, rock
Cleaning Products
- What are the ingredients of the commonly used cleaning products
used for boat maintenance e.g. teak cleaner, fibreglass brightener,
washing up liquid?
- What are the impacts on aquatic life and are these localised or
more significant e.g. can ingredients accumulate in sediment
etc
- Loading: what are the volumes entering the water from
recreational boating (greywater and boat maintenance) and is this
significant compared to inputs from other sources e.g. from
agriculture, sewage, industry etc
- Labelling: can a labelling system or protocol be devised to
indicate to yachties which products are less damaging to aquatic
life? There is now a tendency for products to be labelled
‘biodegradable’ or ‘environmentally friendly’ despite including
large amounts of perfume, artificial colouring, phosphates
etc.
Black Water/Boat Sewage
- What is the volume of nutrients entering the environment from
recreational boating compared to other inputs e.g. sewage,
fertiliser, waterfowl?
- What is the environmental impact of discharging boat sewage in
different environments e.g. open sea, estuary, strong/weak tidal
areas, sea bed type?
Effects of Anchoring
- What are the dynamics by which a boat swings around its anchor
with tide and wind? Does the chain regularly circulate around the
anchor, scouring the sea bed, or is the tendency for the boat to
swing around a certain point on the chain while the rest remains
stationary?
- Are there any positive or negative effects of anchoring
by recreational boats on oyster beds? Are different effects caused
by different types of anchors, chain or ropes, or by different hull
profiles or boat sizes taking the ground?
Physical Structures
-
Can physical structures used to provide
moorings have a beneficial effect on marine life e.g. by
effectively providing an artificial reef
Hull Materials
-
What is the recycling potential for
different types of hull materials?
- What is the scope of the issue i.e. how
many boats coming to end of their life are currently lying around
in clubs, training centres, boatyards and marinas?
Non Native Invasive Species
-
Does in-water hull cleaning have the
potential to transfer NNIS? Which species are most likely to be
transferred? Is the contribution from recreational boating
significant compared to commercial fishing, shipping
etc?
- Do craft moved between inland water basins
have the potential to transfer NNIS? Which species are most
likely to be be transferred? What is the best practice mitigation
advice to prevent transfer?
Electric Boats
- Conduct a life cycle analysis of an
electric boat engine. What are the indirect emissions associated
with operation? What about the manufacture and disposal
implications of the additional batteries required? Whilst there are
undoubted advantages with regard to low emissions on the water, low
wake and low noise, do electric boats it produce less carbon
emissions and cause less harm to the environment
overall?
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