Archive of Spotlight Feature Articles

NOAA Chart Makeover Promotes Safe Navigation, Stewardship

By Dorothy Zimmerman

Using high-tech mapping technology and input from boaters, Florida Sea Grant researchers give a makeover to NOAA nautical charts.

NOAA's small-craft charts are among the fundamental navigational tools used by boaters in coastal waters.

Yet these popular charts, developed for recreational boaters operating in close proximity to shore, have undergone relatively few changes in design and concept, in marked contrast to dramatic changes in the boating audience they serve.

Researchers with Florida Sea Grant have now produced the first substantive revision of the NOAA small-craft chart as part of an extensive regional project investigating ways to manage the recreational and environmental impacts of intense boating use.

"We have taken an important first step in developing a universally acceptable chart for recreational boaters," say Gus Antonini, professor emeritus at the University of Florida and Florida Sea Grant researcher.

Using advanced mapping technology and aerial imagery, the new photo-chart includes a variety of information that's pertinent to the views and needs of the contemporary recreational boating community - boaters, anglers, and newcomers like divers, personal watercraft operators, skiers, kayakers, and nature lovers.

The prototype chart is formatted on NOAA's Chart 11425 (Florida: Charlotte Harbor to Tampa Bay), which maps the nearshore geography and navigational features of an approximate 150-mile stretch of Florida's southwest coastline. The re-design relies heavily on input from recreational users as well as resource managers and industry representatives.

The research team, led by Antonini, includes partners from the University of Florida and University of Rhode Island, NOAA's Coastal Services Center, and NOAA's Marine Chart Division, as well as the Boaters'Action and Information League, Sarasota, and the West Coast Inland Navigation District in Venice.

"Today's small-craft charts are being used in ways that could not be envisioned when they were first produced - diving, racing, nature-touring, and wildlife viewing, in addition to traditional uses such as sailing, fishing, anchoring, and cruising," says Antonini.

"The need to promote safe navigation, the primary goal of charting, is being challenged by the numbers and varied types of contemporary recreational users."

In addition to producing the prototype photo-chart, a second goal of the research project has been to tackle the increasingly serious issue of how boater pressure affects coastal environments. Since conventional small-craft charts do not display the kinds of legends and symbols to help make users aware that manatees, seagrass beds, mangroves, and other fragile natural features are in the vicinity, Antonini hopes their inclusion on the prototype may change boater behavior for the better. He suspects - and thus far the study results have borne him out - that boaters avoid damaging the environment when informed of the problem.

"Boaters have the biggest stake in seeing that they behave responsibly," Antonini says. "Of all the many groups that share our coastal resources, boaters seem to be among those with the highest regard for protecting their beauty and serenity."

The prototype photo-chart is one-third larger than its corresponding NOAA small-craft chart, although it retains its familiar 5"x 10" folding size. Mindful of the balance between essential navigational aids and visual clutter, the research team used feedback from boaters and marine industry representatives in the region to decide whether to include or discard additional chart information.

An obvious difference is the liberal use of color. One side uses color symbols to distinguish marsh and spoil areas from water, while spot soundings of water depth measurements are shown as on conventional charts over a white background.

On the reverse side, several methods are used to depict water depths and habitat. Some panels portray color-coded water depths, to help boaters more easily determine where boats of a given draft can and cannot go. Full-color panels that include information on anchorage locations, bridges, boat ramps, depth zones, and speed zones run across the top portion of both sides.

The photo-chart also features background aerial photography and imagery covering portions of both land and water to provide clarity to locate landmarks, especially for those recreational boaters who may not be immediately proficient when navigating in an unfamiliar coastal area.

The responses that Antonini's team have received from users of the prototype photo-chart affirm that boaters prefer the new format and additional information contained within it. A group of 132 boater volunteers tested the prototype for a three-month period in the region in early 1999. More than three-quarters said that environmental and boating information should be included on NOAA small-craft charts.

Moreover, the evaluations demonstrate that the prototype photo-chart had a positive influence on boaters' decisions to avoid damaging the environment. "Responses to hypothetical situations which could impact the environment indicated that boaters have a keen awareness of the appropriate action that should be taken to minimize environmental impacts," Antonini says.

The question remains, however, if the results of this testing region, southwest Florida, are representative of the range of boater activities, experiences, and practices found throughout the U.S. Hence, the research team recommends producing prototype photo-charts for a handful of other boating areas across the U.S. using the methods developed in the southwest Florida pilot study. Representative regional test locations could include Rhode Island, Washington, and Michigan.

Until then, the Florida Sea Grant boating and anchorage management team, with additional funding from NOAA and the West Coast Inland Navigation District, is evaluating a method of mapping bathymetry for shallow water areas that, if successful, could be used to update coastal charts more rapidly and efficiently.

Note: Limited numbers of the prototype NOAA Chart 11425 are available from Florida Sea Grant.

A more readily available companion publication is A Guide to Anchorages in Southwest Florida, which includes a color photo "chartlet" and description of 50 anchorages in Southwest Florida, from the south shore of Tampa Bay to just north of the Everglades. It can be purchased at marine outlets throughout southwest Florida or from BAIL, P.O. Box 15014, Sarasota, Fl 34277-1014. The cost is $8.95 plus tax.

A related publication, A Historical Geography of Southwest Florida Waterways: Volume 1, Anna Maria Sound to Lemon Bay, uses maps and imagery to interpret changes in waterway and habitat conditions over the past hundred years. Copies can be obtained without cost from the West Coast Inland Navigation District, P.O. Box 1845, Venice, Fl 34284

[4/8/02]

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