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Water Sports and Water-Based Recreation

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Outdoor Recreation

Abstract

This chapter first lists some of the different water sport disciplines and then defines those on which the chapter will focus—motorboating/powerboating, canoeing, kayaking, jet skiing, rafting, rowing, sailing, surfing, water skiing, sailing, and windsurfing—distinguishing between motorised and non-motorised activities. It then examines relative and actual participation numbers. The final part of the chapter focuses on specific environmental impacts of water sports: physical impacts to aquatic vegetation, the spread of invasive species, erosion of banks and shores, water pollution and its costs. There is discussion about the impacts of water sports on wildlife as well as the chemical impacts on water sports (heavy metals, hydrocarbons). The final section considers the management of these activities and gives examples of ways in which users can be educated.

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Stott, T. (2019). Water Sports and Water-Based Recreation. In: Outdoor Recreation. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97758-4_13

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