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Yachties invading French Polynesia, Fiji peacekeeping & tuna saved?

French Polynesia: High stake bid to control yachts

In growing numbers and staying longer than ever, visiting yachts are pressuring French Polynesia’s environment—and on the people who call the archipelago home. Now, after months of investigation, the territory is preparing to hit back with tough new controls.

MarineTraffic.com tracking yachts (pink) in French Polynesia

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The French Polynesia Assembly has just ended a four-month commission involving 62 hearings, visits to 14 islands, and a public consultation that involved 710 participants. It just published a 107 page “Information Report on the Mooring of Pleasure Boats in the Inland Waters of French Polynesia” (PDF below).

“The sharp rise in recreational boating is intensifying these tensions,” the report, translated via ChatGPT, says.

In Fa’a’a, Tahiti, (home to the international airport) the “presence of around 80 sailboats has disrupted residents’ daily lives, prompting an urgent need to cap the number of boats or even permanently restrict mooring in certain zones.”

Serious incidents were occurring.

“Testimonies from both public and private stakeholders revealed instances of aggression and vandalism, notably in the associated communes of Vairao and Toahotu. In Huahine, boaters have even reported targeted attacks, including rock-throwing at their vessels…. Elsewhere, in the Leeward Islands (Raromata‘i), the Raiatea shipyard notes that tensions between boaters, fishers, and residents spike when mooring rules or fee payments aren’t respected. The problem is worsened by the presence of rental boats, which are often hard to identify.”