The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division is encouraging recreational boaters that are selected to take the 2026 National Recreational Boating Safety Survey (NRBSS).
The survey provides detailed estimates in every state of how many people go boating, what types of boats they use and how often they go boating. This survey is funded under a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and is administered by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
The survey supports national safety and law enforcement programs by improving boating safety. The 2026 NRBSS is particularly important as it is the first time the survey has been conducted in at least five years.
Selected households will be invited to participate in the study via invitation letters, postcards, emails and text messages. Those who receive an invitation are encouraged to participate to have their voice heard.
Participation will help enforcement agencies keep the waterways safer. Respondent information will be held in the strictest confidence and will be grouped to produce statistical summaries.
The survey is being conducted via cooperative agreement by National Opinions Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research organization that has been conducting impactful research and analysis for more than 80 years. Over the next year, NORC will interview more than 50,000 households across all 50 states and the District of Columbia to gather information from individuals who own or rent boats. The results will provide valuable information to national, state, and local agencies through both national and state-level estimates.
For more information about the NRBSS, visit https://uscgboating.org/statistics/national-recreational-boating-safety-survey.php [wlf.louisiana.gov].
