Whakatāne Coastguard president Isaac Tait said no longer having any differentiation between closed and unworkable meant the Coastguard was no longer able to stop people crossing the bar in an emergency. Experienced skippers had always treated the unworkable term to mean they could cross at their own risk, he said.
He said the new closed meant unworkable "which means, 'we suggest you don't go out, but you can go out'".
The Coastguard needed to have the option to close the bar completely when necessary, he said.
"It doesn't have to be because of bad weather, it could be because of an oil spill, the police could be recovering a body, it could be multiple things. Previously, everyone knew that if the bar was closed, you couldn't come in or out, you had to wait until it reopens. It's normally only ever closed for a short period of time.
Tait also objected to how quickly the change was rushed in and said it would have been nice to have a month or two to advertise the changes.
"It's been working fine for 120 years without any problem. Why, all of a sudden, has it changed?"
He said initially the regional council had wanted to change the categories to simply open or closed but that would have seen "no moderation in between".
"Now they've done this, which is just as confusing."
Tait said the Coastguard had fielded a lot of calls from confused boaties.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council general manager of regulatory services Sarah Omundsen said the terminology was changed because there was confusion about the difference between unworkable and closed.
"The regional harbour master wanted to avoid any suggestion that an unworkable bar was safe to cross despite the navigational safety risks being high. So the categories were simplified. We have received good feedback from boaties on this change, and hope that removing any ambiguity makes it easier and safer for everyone."
Omundsen said the decision whether to cross the bar ultimately lay with the skipper of a vessel.
"However, there could be serious legal consequences for a skipper if an accident occurs during a bar crossing at a time when the maritime team has given a warning that the bar is closed."
When asked whether the Coastguard was consulted on the change, Omundsen said no public consultation was needed, given it was a relatively minor change and simplified things for boaties.
"However, we made sure the changes were advertised widely on the radio, in local newspapers and with fliers at Whakatāne Harbour.
"We hope that if anyone has any questions about the changes, they will contact the regional council's maritime team."
