Hiva Oa, Ua Pou, Ua Huka, Maupiti, four islands are entering a new regulatory framework for ship anchorage. The country has just adopted orders that organize the parking of sailboats in their bays, in the face of the growing pressure of boating. Objective: to protect ecosystems and avoid conflicts of use.
97 anchorages spread between the Marquises and the Îles Sous-le-Vent. This is the result of the decrees adopted in the Council of Ministers. These texts define, island by island, delimited areas where pleasure boats are allowed to park and clear rules on duration, equipment and discharges.
The decision follows a significant increase in nautical stopovers in archipelagos whose bays were so far not subject to any binding framework. Result: anarchic anchorages, pressure on the herbaria, tensions between local users and passing boaters.
What the regulations provide
In Hiva Oa, the busiest island in the Marquesas archipelago, six anchorage areas are created for 46 places reserved for small pleasure. Ua Pou now has five zones for 21 places, Ua Huka has two zones in the bays of Vaipaee and Hane for 20 places. In Maupiti, whose lagoon is classified among the most preserved in Polynesia, the existing system is completed by two additional areas for 10 places.
Separate areas are provided for large vessels, in areas adapted to maneuvers and safety constraints.
Strict health and environmental rules
All anchorage in these areas is subject to prior authorization from the maritime station. Ships must have equipment adapted to wastewater management. Polluting emissions are prohibited. The number of vessels per area and the duration of parking are also regulated. These provisions are thought of as a protective net for fragile ecosystems – herbariums, corals, sandy bottoms – that uncontrolled anchors can quickly degrade.
Regulation is only a first step. Studies prior to the installation of ecological anchors – fixed devices that prevent ships from anchoring directly on the bottom – will begin in the second half of 2026. In the meantime, ESCALES ambassadors will be deployed on the ground to inform boaters of the new rules. The ESCALES program, carried out by the country, has been supporting the development of boating in French Polynesia for several years by articulating reception and environmental protection.
source : la 1ere franceinfo
