Exploring boaters’ intentions and awareness to explain why some anchor on coral reefs

Abstract

Coral reefs provide a variety of ecosystem services to humans, but are also degrading due to human activities such as damage from boat anchoring. Anchoring on reef could occur intentionally, because boaters prioritize other considerations that outweigh any desire to not anchor on reef, or unintentionally, because they lack true awareness of the seabed habitat. We conducted structured interviews, informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, with 130 boaters in the British Virgin Islands to uncover the motivations and awareness underlying their anchoring behavior. Perceived awareness is rarely ground-truthed, so we checked interview responses of anchored boats by snorkeling to observe the seabed underlying their anchor and anchor chain. All respondents stated a strong aversion to anchoring on coral reef. The few boats we observed anchored on reef did so unintentionally due to a mismatch between their perceived and actual awareness of the seabed habitat. Potential management actions to reduce anchoring on reef thus include measures that increase awareness of seabed habitats. Mooring buoys are an alternative to anchoring at some sites, so increased use of moorings is another option because it should decrease the proportion of boats that anchor, which, in turn, should reduce unintentional anchoring on coral. The decision to use a mooring rather than anchor is, however, multifaceted. Boaters are less likely to choose moorings if they perceive moorings as inconvenient to pre-book, do not trust the moorings are secure, or prefer more secluded areas. Boaters also noted that, during peak boating season, the option to moor is reduced because moorings are sometimes fully occupied. Despite this complexity, our findings suggest several local management options that could further reduce the minority of boats anchoring on coral.