Eco Friendly Boating
Clean Boating Habits
Eco Friendly Boating or Boating Green is about developing Clean Boating Habits and leaving the smallest impact on the waterways while recreational boating. Boat sewage, graywater, cleaning products, spilled fuel and oil, trash and aquatic nuisance species are potential sources of pollution. Boaters play an important role in the health of the waterways they enjoy, and share a responsibility for their protection. Even though boating green does not have a direct effect on your ability to go out and come back safely it does play a safety role for generations to come.
Foul Weather
Wind, waves, rain and fog cause potential problems for boaters that can result into pollutants being accidently spilled into the environment. Check the weather before and while underway for your safety and the protection of the environment from any accidental spillage of toxic substances such as fuel in portable containers. In foul weather, prevent accidental spillage by securing loose items.
Boat Maintenance
Products used to clean boat hulls, decks and bilges may contain toxic chemicals that are harmful to the marine environment.
Use cleaning methods that prevent pollutants from entering the water. Use only fresh water to clean your boat instead of detergents, in addition to harming the environment, detergents remove wax from the boat surface and would require you to wax more often. If a cleaning product must be used to remove stubborn dirt, choose one that is environmentally friendly. Try to do most of the cleaning and maintenance of the boat when it is out of the water.
Oil and Gas
Oil can coat the feathers and fur of wildlife, destroying their natural insulation from the cold. Even a thin film of oil can kill aquatic organisms that live near the surface of the water. Once ingested, oil moves up the food chain from tiny plankton to fish, birds and then humans where it can cause health issues and even death. The cumulative effect of even the smallest spills has a tremendous impact on the waterways. Federal law prohibits oil from being discharged into the water anytime or anyplace.
Use caution when filling your fuel tank and don't top off, attend the nozzle at all times. Catch fuel drips with a rag and properly dispose of soiled rags at approved collection facilities. Install fuel tank whistles or fuel/air separators to avoid spills and use funnels for pouring oil. Inspect fuel lines periodically and replace as needed. Keep a supply of absorbent pads for cleaning up spills and dispose of used oil and filters at a waste oil recycling center. If a spill does occur, notify the marina management immediately.
Prevent oily bilge water from being pumped overboard by using drip pans and oil absorbent pads while draining oil from the bilges. Make regular checks of all hoses, gaskets, seals and connections for leaks and drips and repair as necessary. Place an oil absorbent pad under the engine in the bilge to trap oils from leaks and dispose of used pads at an approved petroleum disposal facility, check with your local marina for location. Use rags to clean up oil spills, do not use soap and water and remove oily bilge water at a bilge pump out station.
Aquatic Nuisance's
With no natural predators, non-native aquatic species such as plants, fish and animals can increase dramatically under the right conditions. By overcrowding they can displace native species, clog water ways and impact navigation and recreation, once introduced they are extremely hard to eradicate.
Aquatic nuisance's can be accidently transported by getting caught on propellers, intakes or attaching to the boat trailer or hull of the vessel. To help prevent try to avoid chopping vegetation with the boats propeller. Inspect your boat and trailer and remove any plants and animals before you leave that body of water. Always flush and drain the raw water cooling systems, sea strainers, live wells, bait wells and bilges before moving the boat from one body of water to another. Cleaning the fishing and dive gear is also recommended.
Solid Waste and Marine Debris
Trash in the water or washed up on the beach is unsightly and can kill or injure birds, fish and marine mammals. Ingestion of plastic waste or entanglement in fishing lines and nets can cause death. Floating debris such as plastic bags can be sucked up into the raw water cooling systems causing engine failure, nets and lines can be fouled with the propeller leaving the boat stranded and solid objects can result in structural damage to the hull causing sinking. Federal prohibits the discharge of plastics into the water anytime and anyplace.
Prevent plastic bags, containers and loose items from being accidently blown overboard and if possible retrieve them when they do. Carry a trash bag out and bring it ashore for proper disposal. If possible, recycle reusable containers, paper, cans and bottles.
Other Hazardous Waste
In addition to oil, gas, cleaning products and plastic there are a few more items that need caution when being used. These items are paint (both top-side and bottom), wood preservatives, lacquers, solvents, batteries, zinc anodes and out dated flares. All of these items must be disposed of at an approved hazardous waste facility and never in the waterways, trash, sink, sewer or street drain.
Check with the local marina, some provide recycling/disposal service. Check with the local solid waste authority for instructions on how and where to properly dispose of hazardous waste products.
Sewage
Untreated sewage in the waterways can spread disease, contaminate shellfish beds and lower the oxygen levels. Exposure to sewage polluted water can cause gastroenteritis, hepatitis, dysentery and cholera. It is illegal to dump raw sewage into the waterways within three miles of the closest shore.
Use a holding tank or porta-potty and pump out at an approved dump station.
Graywater
Water from sinks, washers and showers is called gray-water and is often dumped straight into the water without treatment. Gray-water is often rich in phosphates that encourage the growth of unwanted algae which can suffocate marine species. The dumping of gray-water is prohibited in some areas, check with the marina authorities for local restrictions.
Use shore-side laundry facilities whenever possible. Use non-phosphate and biodegradable soaps and limit the amount to get the job done.
Fish Waste
Fish waste from gutting fish to unwanted bait in small amounts do not create problems for the environment, but in large quantities in an enclosed basin with restricted water circulation fish waste can deplete the oxygen level and kill fish.
Practice cleaning fish and dumping bait at sea or at fish cleaning stations ashore, which have proper trash receptacles and waste water hook ups.
