Modeling the influence of attitudes and beliefs on recreational boaters' use of buoys in the Balearic Islands
Recreational boating is a globally significant nature-based industry, which can degrade sensitive benthic habitats through physical damage from anchors. Mooring buoys can eliminate this impact and lead to additional benefits such as more efficient use of space, increasing the well-being and safety of boaters, and generating revenue through user fees. Evidence that buoys positively influence the well-being of users, especially if this is reflected in a willingness to pay, may provide motivation to decision-makers to invest in this management measure yet, to the best of our knowledge, relatively little is known about what motivates boaters to use buoys. Based on the theory of reasoned action, this study uses the classification tree method to model the influence of behavioral and normative beliefs on two dependent variables; boaters’ perceived likelihood to use buoys and willingness to pay (WTP) in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) located in a heavily used Bay on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of Spain. This MPA was designated to protect Posidonia oceanica, an endemic seagrass in the Mediterranean, which has been significantly degraded by structural damage from anchors. Data were collected using a survey instrument administered to recreational boaters in the summer of 2011. The data showed overall user support for buoys, and a positive relationship between attitudes (associated with perceptions of safety, space, and minimizing impacts on P. oceanica) and WTP and behavioral intent. The data also indicated a positive influence of awareness of the potential negative impacts of anchoring on P. oceanica and the role of buoys in minimizing these effects on both dependent variables. Attitudes towards crowding in the study site had a very minor influence and normative beliefs did not feature as predictors in our models. The study is part of a larger research initiative to assess the physical, social, and environmental dimensions of recreational boating on the island of Mallorca. The theoretical framework, data collection and statistical assessment methods are broadly applicable to interdisciplinary research on use of coastal and marine space.