Waikato Regional Council maritime officers will be patrolling coastal and inland waters in force this summer as part of the annual Operation Neptune.

“We want boaties to have fun when they’re heading out onto the water, but there will be plenty of others in and on the water and we want them to stay safe,” says Waikato Regional Harbourmaster, Chris Bredenbeck.

“While the boating public will notice our personnel out and about on the water, conducting boating safety checks and enforcing the boating bylaws, the reality is that boating safety education stops at the boat ramp.

“It’s the skipper’s responsibility to ensure they know the rules and comply with them on the water,” says Mr Bredenbeck.

“We’ll be looking closely at whether boaties are following the rules including around personal flotation devices (PFDs), speed limits and the need for towing with an observer.”

For example, people on vessels six metres or less need to wear their PFDs while the vessel is underway. Larger vessels are required to have a PFD for each person on board, but they’re only required to be worn under certain circumstances such as bar crossings or times of heightened risk. This is a different rule to some other regions.

Boat users are responsible for being familiar with Waikato region boating rules before they head to the water. Boating rules can be found on Waikato Regional Council’s website, the MarineMate mobile phone application and are prominently displayed on signage at boat ramps around the Waikato.

Waikato Regional Council maritime officers on patrol may issue breach notices that can result in fines of up to $200 per offence.

Last summer, Operation Neptune staff had over 1000 interactions with the public with 393 bylaw breaches identified, with 94 formal warnings issued and 299 infringements.

The annual Operation Neptune programme will run for almost three weeks during the summer boating peak between Boxing Day and 12 January 2025, covering popular coastal, lake and river boating areas across the Waikato region. This includes Raglan and Kāwhia in the west, the Coromandel Peninsula, along with the Waikato River from Port Waikato through to Lake Karāpiro and Lake Arapuni down to Lake Ōhakuri.

For the three weeks of Operation Neptune, the council’s year-round maritime services team will be boosted by about 25 staff from other parts of the organisation along with two summer students. Staff will be deployed on nine council-branded vessels, ranging from jetskis to the 6.7mTūtaia which joined the fleet in October, and on selected boat ramps.

Boating rules and safety information is available at waikatoregion.govt.nz/maritime-services

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