Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/570649
www.BoatingIndustry.com 26 | Boating Industry | October 2015 O n the previous pages we recognized our four Movers & Shakers for 2015, but they're not the only industry leaders making bold moves to improve the boating industry. Here are seven more individuals – and one family – that are working to shake up the industry. From tackling the invasive species challenge to taking on the country's changing demographics, these leaders are working to advance their organizations and the entire industry. INVASIVE SOLUTIONS JOHN ADEY President, American Boat & Yacht Council Annapolis, Md. Invasive species have been an issue of grow- ing importance in the industry as these aquatic hitchhikers continue to spread to new locations. It's a problem that threatens water access throughout the country, as boating and fi shing are hampered by AIS. It was with that background that the American Boat & Yacht Council hosted the industry's fi rst Aquatic Invasive Species Summit earlier this year in Las Vegas. More than 100 stakeholders from boat builders to engine manufacturers to government offi cials attended the summit. "From a practical standpoint, it is the time to start develop- ing and constructing boats in consideration of AIS," said ABYC president John Adey. The genesis of the idea for the summit came from a discussion Adey had with former NMMA counsel Cindy Squires a couple of years ago, where she pointed out the potential clash between decontamination efforts and industry standards for construction. "It became pretty apparent that the decontamination processes that were going on were pretty detrimental to boat construction," Adey said. ABYC decided it was important to get in- dustry representatives and the people on the front lines of AIS issues together to discuss the issue. The result was a better understand- ing by both groups of the issues involved. "The Fish and Wildlife Service and those people learned a lot from the boat builders and the boat builders learned a lot from them," Adey said. "It was the perfect timing and I don't think there was anyone in the room who came away feeling that their time was wasted or that they didn't learn something." There may be another summit in the future, and plans are already in place to de- velop a new technical document to address a number of areas of boat construction that could be improved by considering invasive species. "We know we have the right people at the table, we know we have the expertise to write the document," Adey said. "I would say in three years we'll have a document out on the street with some very subtle and not too dramatic changes to boats to make it a little bit easier to decontaminate." Ignoring the problem and hoping it'll go away is not an op- tion, Adey said. If left unaddressed, it will cause serious problems for the industry. "It's something that's going to really hamper the enjoyment of the water," he said. "When that happens, all of us have a problem."