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Delta Waters Sustain Boaters and Anglers

Starlight and still waters attract not only lovers but anglers. A survey of anglers who frequent the channels and banks of the Delta's 700 miles of waterways found that 38% had fished at night. The newly released survey, prepared for the Delta Protection Commission and Department of Boating and Waterways by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, asked 10,000 registered boat owners and 10,000 licensed anglers what types of recreation they enjoyed where and when in the Delta. It also evaluated their satisfaction with marinas, parks, campgrounds and other facilities and identified changes in recreational activities over the last five years.

"One of the biggest changes is the advent of the personal watercraft," says the Commission's Margit Arambaru. According to the survey (see Now in Print):

• The two most common vessels owned used in the Delta were powerboats (69% of respondents) and personal watercraft (15%). The latter, better known by their brand names Jet Skis and Sea-Doos, are a fairly recent phenomena. Most of the powerboats range from 16-20 feet in length.
• Pump-out toilets were reported on 87% of houseboats, 68% of sailboats, and 15% of powerboats. Such toilets- pumped out into onshore sewage systems at marinas-help maintain water quality.
• Fishing proved the most popular activity from a boat (77%), with an average group size of 2.8 people participating in the activity for an average of 14 days per year. The second most popular activity was cruising (76%). Beyond boating and fishing, the most popular activities were sightseeing and viewing wildlife.
• Every year, Delta users engaged in a total of 7.1 million days or portions of days of boating. Most boating takes place on weekends between May and September.
• Most boating and fishing activities occurred in Zones D (west Delta- see map) and E (east Delta). Part of the reason for this is the number of marinas (52 in D and 17 in E), public boat launches (3 in D and 11 in E), fishing access points (16 in D) and recreation areas (Brannon Island in D), as well as Zone D's proximity to highways and populated areas. Zone D also proved the most popular location for hunting on land, watching wildlife, picnicking, windsurfing, visiting historical sites and walking for pleasure.
• Over half the boaters felt that public restrooms, courtesy docks and shoreline areas accessible to the water were less than adequate, while launch ramps, fuel docks and marinas were adequate. Anglers agreed that public restrooms were in short supply, and felt that fishing piers and fish cleaning stations could be better and more plentiful.
• Boating groups spent an average of $139 per trip inside the Delta on lodgings, refreshments, supplies and activities, and fishing groups $95 per trip.
• Over 75% of both boaters and anglers observed law enforcement patrol boats while out on the Delta.
• Changes in recreational activities over the last five years were fairly minor. For boaters, boating and camping showed a slight decline, while windsurfing and bicycling showed a slight increase. For anglers, drops in participation were most precipitous for fishing, swimming and board sailing. Hunting had the biggest declines in both groups.

"The survey points out that our Commission needs to pay more attention to support facilities for recreation," says Arambaru. One way these may be provided is through $1 million in Proposition 204 dollars in local government grants for recreational improvements to the Delta - applications due this December. "Hopefully, the grant applications will be reviewed by Parks and Rec. with the survey in mind," says Arambaru.

Contact: Margit Arambaru (916)776-2290

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