When a person steps forward out of a small boat onto a dock the boat recoils backward in the water why does this occur?

When a person steps forward from a small boat onto a dock, they exert a force on the boat in the direction of their movement. According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As the person pushes off the boat to move forward, the boat experiences a recoil in the opposite direction, causing it to move backward in the water. This movement is a result of the conservation of momentum in the system.