Little boats and big concerns? Seeking a balance between ecotourism and motorboat use in Tortuguero, Costa Rica.

Motorboat use in ecotourism is not a typical tourism-related research focus. This interdisciplinary study addresses local concerns about ecotourism-related motorboat use in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, a popular and relatively isolated ecotourism destination. My study contemplates related impacts and management suggestions by incorporating social and physical science methods, tools, and techniques including: a custom Boat Observations and Traffic Evaluations (BOTEs) protocol, semi-structured interviews, and erosion-related measures of Total Suspended Solids (TSS). My results highlight respondent concerns regarding high levels of motorboat use, captains traveling at fast speeds, and increased erosion. From the results, I derived eight management-oriented suggestions, including local respondents' most frequent recommendation: the introduction of local motorboat speed limits. To address these recommendations in the future, management should prioritize reducing negative social and environmental boat use-related impacts--an essential undertaking in seeking a balance between ecotourism and motorboat use in Tortuguero. --Leaf i.