The runways will directly impact bay activities like boating, windsurfing and kayaking. Runways will block access and sedimentation will ultimately eliminate sailing and unique launching areas that cannot be replaced.

The shoreline and the bay waters near the airport provide some of the best windsurfing in the Bay Area. Windsurfers will be cut off from the middle of the bay. As silt builds up near shore areas could become too shallow for windsurfing. As it stands, some windsurfing areas are already dangerous or difficult at very low tides due to mud bars. A mud bar is usually discovered when a windsurfers fin impacts the mud bar at high speed. As sediment builds up, these dangers and difficulties will increase. Over time, the majority of the sites and the capacity could be lost.

A site like Coyote Point Park will currently serve hundreds of windsurfers of on a windy summer day. This site cannot be replaced elsewhere. While new parking could be provided elsewhere, the winds cannot be moved. SFO experiences low cloud condition more frequently than Oakland or San Jose because it located to the east of the San Bruno gap where steady and consistent winds bring in a current of ocean air.

Two marinas are located close to the ends of new runways where increased sedimentation may choke off access. Heavy sedimentation could restrict the use of these marinas or require maintenance dredging that would continue indefinitely.

The ecological impacts will also have an indirect impact on fishing. The number of fish and the health of fish may be affected. As it stands, an advisory from the California Environmental Protection Agency warns, "adults should limit their consumption of San Francisco Bay sport fish to, at most, two meals per month."²¹ Many subsistence fishermen are feeding their families contaminated fish at a rate that is more than 10 times the recommended limit. Many of the subsistence fishermen are unaware of the contamination dangers.

²¹ California EPA- Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment advisory updated 5/28/97

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