Charting New Waters: Leveraging Recreational Boating Communities for Citizen Science

Abstract

Oceanographic models are necessary to predict future effects of climate change. These models must be based on data, which can be difficult to collect due to the need for vessels and infrastructure in the open ocean - necessitating the integration of novel methods for data collection such as citizen science. This study explores the potential of recreational boaters as participants in citizen science (CS) projects. A survey of 439 recreational boaters, primarily from the Pacific Northwest, reveals that over 75% are interested in using their boats for CS data collection. Familiarity with CS significantly predicts interest in participation; 87.1% of those aware of CS are interested, compared to 59.8% of those unfamiliar. Boaters who had participated in CS projects in the past cited care for the natural environment (77%) and curiosity (44%) as key motivators. The primary barriers for non-participants were a lack of awareness of CS (56.3%) and nearby opportunities (42.5%). The study underscores the importance of targeting non-academic settings for recruitment and suggests leveraging platforms like Facebook and recreational boating forums to increase participation. Results also suggest that the adoption and adaptation of private-industry outreach concepts such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), cold email outreach, and social selling may be beneficial for projects aiming to recruit boaters. The findings emphasize the potential of recreational boaters in contributing to oceanographic research and the need for further studies to explore actual participation rates and the impact of demographic factors on recruitment. This research provides a foundation for future initiatives to engage recreational boaters in CS, offering a cost-effective solution to expanding oceanographic data collection.