Hello,

I am a researcher at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. For the past year and a half, I have been working on a research project aimed at learning about boating safety from the perspective of Canadian Anglers and Hunters. The intent of this project is to gather information that will help boating safety groups, Sportsman organizations and Transport Canada promote boating safety in a manner that suits the safety priorities of Sportsmen and reflects the reality of boating on Canadian waters.

Part of this project involves a survey that takes about 15-20 minutes to do. I am also holding telephone interviews with individual hunters and anglers. During the interview, we would discuss how you started hunting or fishing, how you approach boating safety and what you think about things like the PCOC. The interviews usually take from 30 minutes to an hour.

In order to take part in this study, you need to be at least 19 years old and have used a boat while hunting or fishing at least once in the past year. Everyone who completes the survey has the option of being entered into a draw for a $50 Canadian Tire gift card. People who do a telephone interview have the option of receiving a $25 Canadian Tire gift card in the mail.

If you are interested, the website for the project is:

http://www.marin-research.ca/OBSSurvey/index.php.

The links for the survey and the interviews are included on the web page, as well as contact information for myself if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

Thanks for your time, and I hope to hear from you!

Over the next few weeks, we will be gradually shutting down our data collection. The survey will be closed as of April 4th, and interviews will no longer be scheduled after April 18th.

If you would like to participate before those dates you are welcome to do so. The gift cards are available until the closing dates: again, April 4th for the survey and April 18th for the interviews.

If you would like to receive a copy of our final report, we would be happy to send one to you via e-mail. More information can be found on our website: www.marin-research.ca

Finally, we would like to thank everyone who has participated in our project. Your time and input are greatly appreciated, as our work would not have been possible without it.