Bay of Plenty authorities clamp down on bad boatie behaviour

Bay of Plenty Regional Harbourmaster Peter Buell (right) out on the water. Photo / Supplied

Bay of Plenty authorities are clamping down on bad boatie behaviour as hundreds of people have been caught flouting the law on the region's beaches and lakes this summer.

Bay of Plenty Regional Harbourmaster Peter Buell said 90 per cent of recreational water users were well-behaved.

"But the other 10 per cent can cause an awful lot of havoc," he said.

"As we're getting busier each and every year with more boats and jet skis on the water, that 10 per cent figure turns out to be bigger and bigger each year. That's a concern."

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"As numbers grow, it's more important that everyone keeps following the rules if we're going to try keep everyone safe," he said.

Since October last year, the harbourmaster team had spoken with 3000 water users out on lakes and ocean in the Bay of Plenty.

Of those, 277 people had breached the Bay of Plenty Regional Navigation Safety Bylaw 2017, with 157 being stung for speeding.

To date, 20 infringements had been issued with more breaches still being processed.

The fine for infringements was $200.

He said breaches relating to speeding in five-knot areas and lifejackets were common, with jet skis over-represented in the offences.

"I can't believe in this day and age we've found 55 vessels so far this year that didn't have lifejackets or enough lifejackets on board.

"You'd think that would've been history but it's still happening."

Breaches relating to the naming of vessels and registering of jetskis were also frequent.

This year was the last year since the bylaw was implemented that water users who had not registered their jetski or named their vessel would be allowed a grace period.

Currently, people were given two weeks to register their watercraft and escape a $200 fine.

The local harbourmaster team would be out on the water this weekendfor Maritime New Zealand's "No Excuses" campaign which targets recreational boaties who are not carrying or wearing lifejackets and who speed on the water.

Tauranga Volunteer Coastguard operations manager Dane Robertson said the first month of the year had proved to be the busiest ever, with the service carrying out eight assists on January 19.

He said there was an increasing number of people out on the water as the area's population grew.

About 80 per cent of assists helped boaties out with electrical or mechanic issues or those who had run out of fuel.

He urged people to join the Coastguard and follow its five safety tips: wear lifejackets, have two separate water-proof communication devices such as a cellphone or VHF, have enough fuel to cover a return trip plus reserves, file a trip report with the Coastguard and have an "activation hour" for family or friends to raise the alarm if they have not returned by a certain time.