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Auckland Harbourmaster Jon Lee-Richards is cracking down on boaties making money from subleasing moorings owned by the Auckland Regional Council.
He said one boatie tried to sublet a pile mooring for $100 a month while the council was getting only $34 a month for it.
Advertisements on Trade Me showed attempts to sublet ARC-supplied pile moorings, for which there is an unsatisfied demand in sheltered estuary areas such as Panmure and Te Atatu.
Current ARC leases do not permit subletting.
Council staff spotted the $100-a-month offer on Trade Me. The advertiser explained to them he thought he had bought the mooring with the boat.
Having moved his new boat to the Westhaven Marina, he tried to recoup some of his costs by renting the pole mooring out.
But ARC staff cancelled the mooring permit, saying their only rental contract was with the person who held the permit.
The council administers mooring sites on the seabed on behalf of the Crown and says subleasing an unneeded mooring for personal gain spoils the opportunity for someone on the ARC waiting list to use it.
The council has not raised fees for its 2800 authorised moorings in the 16 years since it took over responsibility for them from the former Auckland Harbour Board.
Next year it is likely fees will rise for most moorings in the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf Islands, and the 500 unauthorised moorings that pay no fees will be brought into the bylaw fee regime.
In a report to the council, Mr Lee-Richards said the council had invested $700,000 in its 240 pile moorings. It should be looking for a return on that investment of about 13 per cent above the cost of administering the Navigation and Safety Bylaw.
A pile mooring cost $2950 to establish and cost the ARC $573 a year including operational expenses and provision for replacement - compared with $415 rent received.
The council also controls 2500 swing moorings which draw an ARC administration charge varying from $15 to $187 a year according to type, location and vessel size.
For example, a 10m boat which sits on the mud when the tide goes out is charged $15.
A 10m boat which floats at all tides at Little Shoal Bay pays an annual fee of $71, one moored in Torbay $45, while one in Okahu Bay pays $153.
Boaties supply the mooring hardware - such as iron weights on the seabed, chain and a marker buoy - and the mooring permit-holder is expected to arrange a contractor to inspect the condition of the mooring every three years and to pay for it.
The ARC offers a free listing service for rental and sale of swing moorings and from its database can verify whether the mooring has been inspected and can take craft of a certain size.
Moorings in high-demand areas such as Matiatia Bay, Waiheke Island, have changed hands between boaties for $10,000.
ARC environmental management chairwoman Dianne Glenn said the council needed to recover its costs on moorings.
She said the public would be consulted over a fee structure, including a proposal of a minimum $100 annual fee.
