Drawing a line in foreshore sand

The golden beaches along the 70 kilometres of Abel Tasman foreshore are a lure for walkers, campers, kayakers, boaties and commercial operators.

Coming up with a plan to accommodate them, and those fortunate enough to own private land near the beach, was not going to please everyone.

It’s taken more than five years since the creation of the Abel Tasman Foreshore Scenic Reserve to get a plan that will hopefully stop the 774 hectares of sparkling coastline becoming a victim of its own popularity.

With no regulations on where and how often commercial operators could drop visitors on the foreshore, there were concerns about human waste, and tension between those seeking a quiet camping spot and boatloads of visitors coming and going.

The management plan’s approval last week, by a joint committee including the Conservation Department and Tasman District Council, followed 104 submissions on a draft last year.

The main proposal is to concentrate commercial water transport in eight bays that will have toilets and other infrastructure to cope.

There will also be restrictions on peak season visitor numbers brought in by commercial boats, based on existing summer peaks, though the plan allows for increased visitors in shoulder seasons.

While the main thrust of the new regime, effective from November, has been welcomed, commercial operators are querying restrictions in Torrent Bay and at Tonga Quarry beach.

The beach at Torrent Bay adjoins private land whose owners have been pushing for lower visitor numbers.

Under the new rules, no commercial pickups will be allowed, and the numbers being dropped off will be restricted to 300 in the mornings.

That has led to Sea Shuttles saying it will cut its summer service to Torrent Bay, meaning bach owners who use the service will have to find another operator.

Further north, long-standing operator Wilsons welcomes the inclusion of all-tide access at Medlands Bay but says the failure to have a similar area at Tonga Quarry beach will hamstring its business that uses larger vessels to take visitors to the shore.

The company argues the plan does not take into account that many visitors to the park are now older, and having to wade to shore at other drop-off points is a safety issue.

However, the committee says the new Medlands Bay access will require the removal of the beach camping site because it is too small to cope with both activities. If Tonga Quarry also became an access point, its camping area would have to go, leaving the popular southern part of the coastline with no quiet camping spots.

The committee says it is keen to support the commercial operators who are big contributors to the regional economy, but is trying to cater for a wide range of experiences in a park with a finite number of beaches.

Overall, the authorities seem to have got the balance about right.