Only 60 of Poole Harbour's 10,000 acres are devoted to the commercial operations of the Port of Poole.
The Poole Harbour Commissioners have maintained the Poole as a prosperous, medium-sized Port as well as the harbour emvironment despite stiff competition amongst south-coast ports for continental traffic.
The Commissioners directly employ about 170 people at an annual cost of about £4.2 million and some 450 other jobs in the area are directly or indirectly, related to the the activities of the port and harbour.
The sheltered harbour is ideal for recreational use and is shared by many yachtsmen, the cross-Channel ferries and cargo vessels using the port, the local fishing fleet as well as many craft offering facilities to visitors during the season.
The turn of the 21st century saw the expansion of the commercial Port with the increase in cross-Channel passenger traffic, conventional and RO-RO cargoes, off-shore and on-shore support to the oil industry and bulk cargoes such as fuel, gravel, sand and steel.
