Activity at Whakatāne Boat Ramp carried on without much change on Thursday, as Whakatāne District Council’s fee collection started.

Signage was in place advertising CCTV cameras in operation and reminding people to pay before launching.

The Beacon spoke to three local boat owners returning from a day’s fishing yesterday afternoon.

One had already purchased their virtual resident permit to use the ramp, another hadn’t, but said they would eventually, and another was in the process of logging into the payment site. None were interested in being featured in a news article.

The fisherman who hadn’t paid said he did not think the cameras had yet been installed, but wasn’t sure.

They all felt that harbour maintenance ought to be funded through the council’s Harbour Fund as that was what it had been set up for.

Costs could be kept down by focusing on the basics rather than investing in added extras such as the under-utilised boat wash.

Another passenger on a fishing boat said he felt it was no different to paying an airport landing fee.

The council says the new fee has been introduced to help support the ongoing operation, maintenance and improvement of the council’s boat ramp facilities, ensuring they remain safe, reliable and well maintained for everyone who uses them.

Residents of Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki and Kawerau districts are able to purchase an annual resident’s permit for a one-off cost of $20 and visitors from other districts must pay a $20 day pass.