The British Marine Federation (BMF), the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) and specialist holiday company Sunsail Ltd, say there is currently a lack of concrete knowledge about how many people go boating.

Sport is already included in the government-sponsored General Household Survey every four years but senior marine industry figures agree more regular, focused research is needed, they say.

Many types of watersports have been included in the research, which will enable specialist businesses to identify trends in their sport, for example windsurfing, rowing, power boating or yacht cruising.

Andy Howard, sales and marketing director of Sunsail, said: "The research will enable us to accurately establish the size of the market, providing us with the opportunity to facilitate future development."

"This central market overview will provide companies with even more relevant market information and will benefit all marine businesses, " said John Clarke, chief executive of the BMF.

John Bagnall, marketing manager of the RYA, commented: "By knowing our audience and their preferences better, we can shape the RYA to become even more effective in representing the views of recreational boat users."

Further analysis will be possible based on geographic region and age of watersports participants.

The first year's research has already been conducted by market research agency Arkenford using a random sample of 6,000 people over the age of 16.

It revealed that 8% of respondents had participated in some form of watersports activity during the previous 12 months, representing in the region of four million people in the UK.

This is double the existing industry estimates and puts watersports on a par with tennis, soccer and darts.