Do recreational marine resource users do what they intend and say they do in the Mombasa Marine Park and Reserve, Kenya

Recreational marine resource use is conducted by a varied group of visitors. Regardless of how minimal this resource use is, or what intentions these visitors have, impacts on these resources are unavoidable. Management... [ view full abstract ]

Recreational marine resource use is conducted by a varied group of visitors. Regardless of how minimal this resource use is, or what intentions these visitors have, impacts on these resources are unavoidable. Management authorities of these resources need to know the extent of these impacts to further steer management towards protection of these resources. Traditional monitoring of visitors in the past has relied on self-reported behavior by visitors themselves. Self-reporting of behavior is not always accurate and cannot be relied upon. This study used questionnaires that gathered information on the snorkeler's intentions, attitudes, and perceived control to not damaging the coral reef when they snorkel. These questionnaires were distributed at the start of the snorkel excursion. Two hundred and four participants completed this questionnaire. Two hundred and nine snorkelers were then monitored by the researcher during their actual snorkel behaviour and snorkel behaviour was recorded (frequency and types of impacts on the coral reef). These snorkelers were then given another questionnaire at the end of their excursion which asked these snorkelers if they contacted the reef during their snorkel activity (the self-report measure for comparison). This research paper shows that even though recreational marine resource users (snorkelers) in the Mombasa Marine Park and Reserve had intentions not to disturb the reef when they snorkel, and also indicated having positive attitudes about not disturbing the reef when they snorkel, they still created impacts on the reef. Furthermore, their self-reported behavior did not correspond with their actual monitored behavior. Monitoring snorkeler behavior is time-consuming and is therefore paired with financial investment, however, if this method is the most accurate method of gathering impact data to be used for management purposes, no other data collecting method should be considered, definitely not one that has been shown to be inaccurate (such as self-reported behavior).