Concern for the safety of people engaged in non-motorised activities on the Whangateau Harbour has prompted the Whangateau Residents & Ratepayers Association to draft a discussion document recommending that the five-knot speed limit be extended across the whole of the estuary.
If the final draft is supported by the Rodney Local Board, it will mainly affect water skiing and jet skiing activities.
Committee member Elizabeth Foster, who authored the document, says the speed of craft in the harbour is both an environmental issue and a health and safety issue.
“The Whangateau Harbour is a very shallow, small (6.4.sqkms) and fragile estuary,” she says in the document. “It is a valuable place for breeding fish and invertebrates, which provide food for growing fish and other species.
“It is also a very popular and safe (or should be) place for swimming, snorkelling, paddle boarding and kayaking, especially for children.”
Elizabeth says the estuary is suffering from the pressures of increasing population growth and visitor numbers.
“As the harbour’s popularity increases, there is growing tension between motorised sport and other users.
Currently, motorised activity is a dangerous free-for-all with an almost total disregard for maritime rules in existing five-knot areas.
“It is only a matter of time before someone is badly injured or killed.”
The draft document will be discussed at a Residents & Ratepayers meeting on March 8.
Elizabeth says the feedback she has received so far has been overwhelmingly in favour of the blanket five-knot speed limit, particularly from kayakers, snorkellers and swimmers. She has also had residents from Matheson Bay and Omaha asking that the ban be extended to include them.
In a public email discussion online, Board member Beth Houlbrooke pointed out that if anyone sees anyone breaking the rules then it is the police who should be called.
“They have the authority to enforce the maritime rules so dial 105. It works, they visited my bay a few weekends ago!”
