A 12-foot boat that folds. A paddleboard in a backpack. A kayak that blows up like a balloon. These folding and inflatable vessels are attracting attention as the Inflate-A-Fleet that is the centerpiece of the 2018 New York Sea Grant Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign.

“These unique floating vessels are considered boats and are subject to applicable boating laws and standards,” says Dave White, a Great Lakes coastal recreation and tourism specialist with New York Sea Grant, Oswego, NY. “Every year we select a different style of boat to educate the public about how to be safe, in compliance with boating law, and environmentally-friendly on the water, and the Inflate-A-Fleet is doing that in 2018.”

With a Get Out on the Water: Everyone Can Enjoy Boating theme, the new traveling exhibit will visit boat shows, marinas and events to show how easily people, particularly the younger generation, can get involved in boating.

“As more and more people learn about the fabulous boating resources in New York State, it becomes increasingly more important to educate people of all ages about the best practices for safe, legal, and clean boating. New York Sea Grant is perfectly positioned to extend those practices to the public in both the Great Lakes and marine districts,” comments Katherine Bunting-Howarth, associate director of New York Sea Grant and assistant director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY.

The exhibit that made its debut at a New York City waterfront festival last fall includes signage noting all the gear required and recommended for boaters to be legal, safe and environmentally-friendly on New York State waters. That gear includes such items as life vests and reflective decals for paddles.

New York Sea Grant has received New York State, National Association of Boating Law Administrators, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary awards for the Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign. The program has educated more than one million people, including deaf boaters, emergency services first responders, anglers, sailors, and paddle sport enthusiasts, since its inception in 2008.

New York Sea Grant partners in the Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign include the Boating Industries Association of Upstate NY, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, New York State Marine Services Bureau, and marine industry businesses.

New York Sea Grant is a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, and one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For updates on New York Sea Grant activities statewide, www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links.

PHOTOS Available in High Res: 
New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White in the folding boat that is part of the 2018 Discover Clean and Safe Boating Inflate-A-Fleet educational exhibit. Photo: Brian P. Whattam

These inflatable watercraft are part of the New York Sea Grant 2018 Discover Clean and Safe Boating Inflate-A-Fleet educational exhibit. Photo: Brian P. Whattam

Last week, President Trump announced he would be making E15 available year-round. NMMA is urging EPA and the Trump Administration not to harm boaters and the recreational boating industry by allowing the sale of E15 year-round. NMMA has been working hard to ensure E15 stays out of the market, given its damaging effects on marine engines. Recently, NMMA issued a Boating United alert and is encouraging the industry to take action on this now more than ever given last week’s announcement. (CLICK HERE to access the alert).

Thom Dammrich, president of NMMA, issued the following statement after President Trump’s announcement:

“President Trump’s promise to expand E15 sales into the summer months will needlessly put 141 million American boaters in danger. Unfortunately, far too few boating enthusiasts are aware that boat engines cannot process higher blends of ethanol safely. In fact, 63 percent of consumers assume any gas sold at a retail gas station must be safe for their product.

This shift in policy is simply a political decision meant to appease American farmers who, like American marine manufactures, will be severely harmed by the Administration’s recent trade actions. Rather than negotiating smart policy that benefits all stakeholders, the Administration is trying to fix bad policy with more bad policy. Read more

Fourteen habitat restoration projects totaling more than $2 million will be funded by several Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant programs in 2018. Nonprofit organizations, government agencies and private citizens submitted a total of 41 applications requesting more than $7.72 million in funding to complete priority habitat projects in their areas. These projects were submitted, evaluated and awarded through three grant processes.

The Aquatic Habitat Grant Program seeks to protect and restore fish and aquatic habitats; the Dam Management Grant Program focuses on dam removal, maintenance and repair; and the Habitat Improvement Account provides funding for habitat projects in the Manistee, Muskegon and Au Sable rivers’ watersheds.

“These projects continue our investment in habitats to sustain healthy fisheries for generations to come,” said Joe Nohner, a DNR fisheries biologist. “We’re excited to award these grants and work with the recipients to improve upon Michigan’s already world-class fisheries.” Read more

This issue will continue exploring the sight of fish, and provide some practical suggestions for anglers. Underwater, where visibility is usually limited to dozens of feet under even the clearest conditions, there is little need for long-range vision.

Fish have been described as being nearsighted, and can probably focus on objects much closer to their eyes than humans can. Cast a popping bug near a school of bluegill and one of them will often approach within an inch of the lure to inspect it—something that would leave an angler cross-eyed! Even when a fish first detects an object off to the side, it will usually turn and face it in order to examine it. Why? The likeliest explanation is that this brings the object within the narrow range of a fish’s binocular vision.

Unlike humans, many fish have their eyes set far apart on the sides of the head rather than to the front. This allows a very wide arc of monocular side vision for spotting predators or prey, but provides only a narrow range of overlapping binocular vision to the front. There is a blind spot to the rear, and the range of binocular vision to the front encompasses only about 30-45 degrees. For this reason, some experienced anglers believe a fish is more likely to spot a lure if it is cast to the fish’s side instead of directly in front of it. Once a fish spots something, turning to face it undoubtedly gives the fish a better estimate of the object’s distance. Even though fish will turn to examine objects, their eyes do have limited independent movement within the sockets. Like humans, a fish’s eyes move in unison when looking around.

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A fish has a narrow range of binocular vision to the front, a wide range of monocular vision to both sides, and a narrow blind spot to the back. Read more

Effort takes place on the Black River in Presque Isle County

The Black Lake Chapter of Sturgeon for Tomorrow in Cheboygan County is seeking volunteers to join in its effort, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement and Fisheries Divisions, to help protect lake sturgeon from illegal harvest during the annual spawning run.

Every spring, mature lake sturgeon, a fish species that is threatened in Michigan and rare throughout the United States, become vulnerable to poaching as they briefly leave Black Lake for spawning sites upstream in the Black River. Read more