Qld registers 200,000 boats

BIAQ General Manager, Barry Hibberd, said Queensland boating registration numbers stood at 197,388 on October 31 and were increasing at a consistent average of 760 per month.

"The increasing number of boats on the water brings with it the need for more and better launch/retrieve facilities and marinas and the BIAQ is working with the State Government to ensure supply of facilities keeps pace with public demand," Hibberd said.

Hibberd said the Gold Coast had outstripped Brisbane for the largest boating population.

"Brisbane has 23,750 registered boats and Gold Coast has 24,581. While Brisbane previously had the biggest boating population, it has now been overtaken by the Gold Coast," he said.

Hibberd said the boom in recreational boating in Queensland was good for the local and state economy, with the manufacture and sale of boats worth an estimated $1.4 billion a year.

He said Queensland was rapidly closing on New South Wales as Australia's premier boating state.

"As of June this last year, New South Wales had 203,393 registered boats," Hibberd said.

"While New South Wales has a population 2.7 million greater than Queensland, it has only 6000 more registered boats, a situation which is rapidly changing and being accelerated by interstate migration," he said.

Hibberd said Queensland had 52.2 boats per 1000 head of population while New South Wales had only 31.7.