This is just one post in the General Water Issues Category

In bad economy, boat owners abandon their vessels

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 16, 2008 at 5:43 am

From the Seattle P-I (hat-tip to the Trout Underground):

From Southern California to Maine, the foundering economy, high fuel prices and poor fishing have driven boat owners to abandon perhaps thousands of vessels on the waterfront, where they are beginning to break up and sink, leaking oil and other pollutants.

Boats have long been a barometer of consumer confidence, disposable income and the overall state of the economy. Now, marina and harbor officials are reporting a sudden increase in the past year in the number of deserted pleasure boats and working vessels.

In Antioch, a town about 45 miles east of San Francisco, harbormaster John Cruger-Hansen showed up at his marina one day last spring to find the horizon changed overnight. On the San Joaquin River, he saw an old crane, a rusted barge, a tugboat and an assortment of other junked boats, all of which had been hauled in and left illegally.

“Boating is a pure luxury and one of the first things to go when the economy turns south,” said Cruger-Hansen, who expects to see more abandoned boats by year’s end. “If it comes to the point of putting food on the table or paying the boat slip fee, it’s the boat that goes.”

Read more from the Seattle P-I by clicking here.

November 16, 2008 · Filed Under General Water Issues

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