COLUMBUS, OH – Despite a sluggish economy, Ohioans pushed state watercraft registrations to a record high for the second year in a row, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Watercraft.
Ohio posted a record 424,700 registered watercraft, significantly higher than the previous record of 419,364 reported in 2009. The totals do not include more than 6,400 additional watercraft, mostly canoes and kayaks, that were registered through commercial liveries. A listing of watercraft registrations for each of Ohio’s 88 counties is available online at
www.ohiodnr.com/watercraft.
Counties with the highest number of watercraft registrations last year remained unchanged from 2010 and include Franklin, Cuyahoga, Summit, Hamilton and Montgomery.
Among Ohio’s registered watercraft, according to the Division of Watercraft:
- 316,220 (74 percent) were registered powerboats and personal watercraft;
- 89,859 (21 percent) were canoes/kayaks;
- 11,616 (2.7 percent) were rowboats; and
- 7,005 (1.6 percent) were sailboats without auxiliary power.
During the past decade, the number of Ohio-registered canoes and kayaks more than doubled from 44,198 in 2000 to 89,859 in 2010 – an increase of 103 percent. The Division of Watercraft also reports that the number of watercraft, mostly canoes and kayaks included in commercial livery registrations, increased from 5,282 in 2001 to 6,416 in 2010.
Recreational boating generates an economic impact for Ohio which is estimated at $3.5 billion yearly, supporting the equivalent of more than 26,000 fulltime jobs, according to a 2007 Great Lakes Commission study. An estimated 3 million Ohioans go boating each year, or nearly one in four Ohioans. Almost half of all Ohio residents (48 percent) have participated in recreational boating at least once in their lifetime, according to an Ohio State University study.
The ODNR Division of Watercraft administers Ohio’s boating programs. The agency oversees watercraft registration and titling operations, provides funding to local communities for education, enforcement and boating access facilities, educates the public, and enforces boating laws on Ohio’s waterways. More information may be found online at
www.ohiodnr.com/watercraft or by following the Division of Watercraft on
Facebook or
Twitter.
ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR Web site at
ohiodnr.com
For more information, contact:
John Wisse, ODNR Division of Watercraft
614. 265. 6695
Heidi Hetzel-Evans, ODNR Media Relations
614. 265. 6860