That's the usual channel. Most get weather. VHF probably gets more use on salt water but I'm sure that has changed some over the years. At Lanier we used to have a service where you could patch a phone call in by calling the "marine" operator ....OOPS That was before cellphones...I am telling my age
Most people do not understand there are restrictions to using their radios. I don't think there is a high level of enforcement though. Channel 16 is for emergency use, and for hailing others. If you call someone on channel 16, when they respond you should identify to switch to channels 24-28 or 84-87A for the conversation. Channel 16 should never be "cluttered".