News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 3, 2002

Personal Watercraft Employed in Marine Mammal Research and Rescues

Contact:
Elinore Boeke 202-721-1621
Brian Berry 202-777-3524

Washington, DC—The unique design and lack of an exposed propeller make personal watercraft the vessel of choice for organizations that research and rescue marine mammals. Personal watercraft are small, very maneuverable and jet-propelled, thus they are able to come directly up to rescue an injured dolphin or other marine mammal without risk of prop scarring.

Organizations such as Sea World (Florida and California) and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (Florida), utilize personal watercraft on a regular basis. Researchers with the Dolphin Field School have also found personal watercraft to be useful tools for observing Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. "Many of these vessels have been donated by manufacturers," said Monita Fontaine, executive director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association.

The Free Willy Keiko Foundation is using personal watercraft for wild orca research and safety purposes off the coast of Iceland. The Foundation’s director of field operations and research said that they chose personal watercraft "for their maneuverability, capability in rough conditions, and their ‘user friendliness’-lacking exposed propellers that might pose a risk to Keiko."

In Hawaii earlier this year, lifeguards on Maui used a personal watercraft with a rescue sled to tow a five-foot tiger shark several hundred yards offshore after it was freed from a fishing net.

Personal watercraft are used to save human mammals too. In another recent incident, a Harbor Patrol rescuer on a personal watercraft braved 13 to 18 foot swells off the Northern California coast to ferry three men from the top of their capsized fishing boat safely to a patrol boat. This is a hull design that has made incredible contributions to lifesaving operations that other boats can’t even begin to provide.

Reports on human-related strandings made to the California Marine Mammal Stranding Network in the 1990s show no marine mammal injuries or fatalities related to PWC. Manatee injury and death from personal watercraft is also non-existent. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Protected Species Management reported in a review of over 25 years of manatee mortality records, no PWC was ever implicated in a death or injury.

Personal watercraft are often accused of disturbing wildlife in shallow areas, but the truth is that every personal watercraft carries a sticker warning users to avoid operating in very shallow waters, or risk engine damage that would leave the user stranded and with an expensive repair bill.

"There are currently extensive guidelines dealing with harassment of marine mammals," said Fontaine. "PWIA supports strict enforcement of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, including its provisions for harassment. We applaud the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) "Protect Dolphins" campaign and other efforts to educate the public on avoiding interactions with marine mammals. We all want to protect and preserve dolphins and other marine mammals."

Makers of personal watercraft support reasonable regulations, strict enforcement of navigation and safety laws, and mandatory boating education. Criticism of personal watercraft focuses on stale data, ignoring recent technological advances and initiatives to promote safe and responsible use of these vessels.

Personal watercraft are affordable family boats that seat up to four people. With a jet-propelled engine, they have no exposed propellers. Since 1998, the marine industry has invested in technological advances that have led to a 75 percent reduction in hydrocarbon and NOx emissions, and up to a 70 percent reduction in sound. New direct-injection systems in two-stroke personal watercraft engines are vastly cleaner than older, conventional two-stroke marine engines. The industry continues to innovate, and this year, Bombardier, Honda and Yamaha offer four-stroke engine technology in 2002 models of personal watercraft.