MEDIA RELEASE
 
Safety first for the region’s waterways
For immediate release: 23 March 2009

Thousands of people use the region’s harbours, lakes and off-shore coastal waters and it is important that they stay safe and have fun while out on the water.

Environment Bay of Plenty is reviewing and updating its Navigation Safety Bylaw which sets the framework for the Regional Council to manage the safe recreational and commercial use of the region’s waterways.

Some of the key proposed changes include:

·         An increase in mooring licence fees from $120 to $135;

·         An increase in the commercial navigation and safety licence fees from $75 to $100;

·         The introduction of the requirement to display a sail name or number for vessels on moorings; and

·         An enlargement of the restricted anchoring area in the shipping channels.

A larger area has been proposed for restricted anchoring. This will take in not only the Tauranga harbour entrance but also the entrance channel between Mauao and Matakana Island and alongside the port’s wharves.

Environment Bay of Plenty Deputy Chairman Philip Sherry said this would affect boat operators, fishermen and women who anchor in the shipping channels. He said that if approved, it would extend the area where they must get out of the way of large vessels and cruise ships when fishing in the shipping channels in Tauranga Harbour.

“This is being introduced because there have been too many ‘near misses’. The large ships cannot manoeuvre easily in these narrow shipping channels and therefore may not be able to move around smaller, more mobile fishing boats,” Deputy Chairman Sherry explained.  “It is also for the safety of the boat operators, as a typical large ship like a cruise ship will cover more than 300 metres (or three rugby fields) in a minute.”

Meanwhile the mooring fees have been increased to reflect more fairly the cost of administering them. In return for their money mooring holders get a licence for their boat, a unique identity tag for their mooring and twice a year staff check to make sure the right boat is on the right mooring. Environment Bay of Plenty staff also maintain a detailed moorings database which enables us to contact a boat’s owner if it goes adrift from its mooring.

You can have your say on the proposed changes to the Navigation Safety Bylaw from 30 March until 30 April 2009. 

In May submitters will have an opportunity to present their views to a Council Committee and in June 2009 the new Navigation Safety Bylaw will be sent to Maritime NZ for approval.

For more information visit www.envbop.govt.nz and type in the keywords Navigation Safety. Or read the latest issue of Backyard, the Regional Council newsletter, for more information on making submissions.

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