GLIN==> Press release: New York's 2011 Clean & Safe Boating campaign focus on slowing aquatic invasives

PRESS RELEASE: December 10, 2010
Contact:  Dave White, NY Sea Grant, 315-312-3042
 
Photo available (please specify high/low res in reply to publicist:
karalynn at gisco.net, 315-465-7578): New York Sea Grant Recreation & Tourism
Specialist Dave White (left), and John Jackson, Marathon Boat Group, are
seen here with the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating Exhibit fishing boat.
The exhibit will provide information from the national Stop Aquatic
Hitchhikers project; the 16-foot ³made in New York² Grumman Oneida will be
equipped with the gear required and recommended for clean & safe boating on
NY waters.
 
New York¹s 2011 Clean & Safe Boating campaign will focus on slowing aquatic
invasive species 
 
Cicero, NY ­ New York Sea Grant, the Boating Industries Association of
Upstate New York (BIA), and Marathon Boat Group have announced that clean
and safe boating and how boaters, anglers and other water recreation users
can prevent and slow the spread of aquatic invasive species in New York
waters will be the focus of the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign.
The announcement was made at the BIA¹s December 9th meeting in Cicero, NY.
 
³We are excited to travel through the Great Lakes region to talk with the
diverse types of groups and individuals about clean and safe boating and the
opportunity they have to make a positive impact on the spread of aquatic
invasive species by following easy-to-implement practices,² says campaign
developer and New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist
Dave White.
 
Marathon Boat Group has donated the use of a 16-foot, made-in-New-York
Grumman Oneida fishing boat to be the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating
vessel. The boat will be equipped with the gear required and recommended for
boating on New York waters and will provide boaters and anglers with
information on how they can cope with and control the spread of invasive
species.
 
³The 2010 Discover Clean and Safe Boating Campaign was a new program for
Marathon Boat Group. We are pleased to return in 2011 to help New Yorkers
learn how to enjoy our fabulous boating waters by following good practices
to protect themselves and the marine environment,² says Marathon Boat Group
CEO John Jackson.
 
The first event for the 2011 Discover Clean and Safe Boating vessel will be
the February 16-20, 2011 Central New York Boat Show
(http://www.cnyboatshow.com/boatshow/) at the New York State Fairgrounds in
Syracuse.
 
Marina, marine manufacturer and marine services providers attended the BIA
December meeting. BIA President John Jablonski, owner of The Sailboat Shop
in Skaneateles, NY, said, ³The Boating Industries Association of Upstate New
York is pleased to partner with the Discover Clean and Safe Boating program
because our member businesses are all about making boating safer and more
enjoyable in ways that also protect the quality of our boating waters.²
 
New York Sea Grant¹s Invasive Species Team Leader Charles ³Chuck² O¹Neill
chairs the New York State Invasive Species Advisory Committee. O¹Neill says,
³The 2011 Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign is the type of
collaborative public outreach that puts a spotlight on vectors of aquatic
invasive species introduction, prevention, early detection, rapid response
measures, and long-term management and control ­ all of which can help
reduce the cost of coping with invasive species in New York State.²
 
O¹Neill, who manages the New York Invasive Species Clearinghouse at
http://nyis.info, defines an invasive species as a species that is not
native to the ecosystem of interest and is likely to cause harm to the
economy, environment or human health in that area.
He says Cornell University estimates that $120 billion is spent annually
nationwide on aquatic and land invasive species programs.
 
In 2005, the New York State Invasive Species Task Force reported an annual
expenditure of approximately one-half million dollars to control Sea
Lampreys in the Great Lakes.

For more info on the 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign, contact
White at New York Sea Grant, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, 315-312-3042, or
visit www.nysgextension.org. #
 
Additional Notes:
The New York Invasive Species Clearinghouse at http://nyis.info is a
collaborative effort by New York Sea Grant, the New York Invasive Species
Research Institute, and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Invasive Species
Program.
 
Information on more than two dozen aquatic invasive species is posted online
at http://nyis.info. Look there for details on ³Killer² and bloody red
(hemimysis) shrimp, gribbles, Chinese mitten crab, round and monkey goby,
rudd, spiny water flea, Asian and green clams, invasive mussels and more.
 
The 2011 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign¹s major sponsors are New
York Sea Grant, the Boating Industries Association of Upstate NY, and
Marathon Boat Group. Additional sponsors are providing space at boat shows
and other events statewide and items for the exhibit¹s boating & boat
education prize wheel.

An invasive species is defined as a species that is not native to the
ecosystem of interest and is likely to cause harm to the economy,
environment or human health in that area. Aquatic invasive species can:
* Reduce native species and game fish populations
* Damage boat engines and steering equipment
* Make lakes and rivers unusable by boaters and swimmers
* Increase operating costs of drinking water and power plants, dams, &
industrial processe
* Degrade ecosystems and reduce property values
* Impact the local economies of waterfront communities.

Boaters and anglers can take easily-implemented steps to slow the spread of
aquatic invasive species in New York waters. The 2011 Discover Clean and
Safe Boating campaign will help educate them on the ³how-to.²

More info: Discover Clean & Safe Boating Campaign: Dave White, NY Sea Grant,
315-312-3042; Invasive Species: http://nyis.info, Chuck O¹Neill, NY Sea
Grant, 585-395-2638; www.nysgextension.org <http://www.nysgextension.org> 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20101210/d3faefbd/attachment.html