Southland boating rules: lifejackets, speed and the local bylaw
The rules on Southland waters, from the regional authority and Maritime NZ, linked line by line: lifejackets, speed limits, jet skis, paddle craft and who looks after the water.
From Friday 9 October 2026, everyone on board recreational craft 6 m or under must wear a lifejacket while underway.
It applies on all waters — coast, harbours, lakes and rivers — and covers kayaks, paddleboards, jet skis, dinghies and tenders. “Underway” means not at anchor, aground, or tied to a dock or the shore, so drifting counts. Penalties for the new rule have not been created yet. Who must wear one, exemptions and how to measure 6 m →
Emergency on the water
How to call Coastguard: 111, Channel 16 or *500
Navigation safety bylaw in Southland
Southland Regional Council Navigation Safety Bylaws 2009
Southland Regional Council Navigation Safety Bylaws 2009 (in force 1 July 2009; reviewed and amended, confirmed 16 December 2015)
Who looks after the water: Environment Southland (Southland Regional Council) – Maritime team / Regional Harbourmaster
Lifejacket rules in the bylaw
Bylaw cl 2.1. Carry: no recreational craft may be used unless enough correctly sized PFDs in good condition are on board and readily accessible. Wear: every person on board a craft 6 m or less must wear a properly secured PFD (no skipper waiver); on any recreational craft everyone must wear one when tides, river flows, visibility, rough seas, bad weather or emergencies create risk. People being towed must wear one (except towing under 5 knots or approved sport). Exempt: surfboards and similar unpowered craft; sailboarders, kiteboarders and windsurfers in a wetsuit; divers on boats ≤6 m within 5 miles of shore in a full dive suit; approved supervised sport; visiting foreign teams; SUP riders riding breaking waves with a leg rope; commercial rafts. Paddle craft may use a 'paddle craft only' buoyancy aid marked as set out in cl 2.1.9. ES summary: lifejackets must be worn in vessels 6 m and under, carried in all vessels and worn at times of heightened risk.
Source: es.govt.nz
Where the bylaw conflicts with the national law above, the national law applies from 9 October 2026 (Coastguard: councils have up to five years to update their bylaws).
Harbourmaster and council contacts
Regional Harbourmaster (Environment Southland Maritime team); no direct harbourmaster phone is published on ES's maritime pages. ES general enquiries (03) 211 5115 or 0800 76 88 45 (the 0800 number is ES's 24-hour line for pollution and emergency calls), service@es.govt.nz (monitored in office hours; also used for speed-uplift requests to the Harbourmaster). Emergencies: 111.
These are published contacts for reporting hazards and asking about the rules. In an emergency call 111 and ask for Police, or use VHF Channel 16.
Speed limits on Southland waters
Bylaw cl 3.2: 5 knots within 50 m of any vessel, raft or person in the water; within 200 m of the shore or any structure; within 200 m of a vessel or raft flying Flag A (dive flag); and on a powered vessel while anyone is over the bow or side. ES notes the 200 m shore limit effectively applies on all Southland freshwater rivers unless a permanent speed uplift exists (listed in the bylaw/Beacon GIS); temporary uplifts must be requested from the Harbourmaster (Schedule 8). Lower Ōreti River activity zones A–D with set speed limits (e.g. Zone B: PWCs unrestricted beyond 10 m from the shore). Milford Sound: vessels more than 100 m from shore may exceed 5 knots only if travelling clockwise and at no more than 15 knots (not in Freshwater Basin or Deep Water Basin, where 5-knot rules apply everywhere). Doubtful Sound: more than 5 knots in Hall Arm (south-west of the Narrows) is prohibited. Porpoise Bay: motorised vessels over 5 knots prohibited in the defined area. Under 15s: national rule repeated in cl 3.1 (direct supervision within reach of the controls).
Jet ski (PWC) rules and registration
No PWC registration or licence in the bylaw (no general vessel-ID clause found either). PWCs prohibited: North Mavora Lake (also hovercraft; South Mavora Lake bans all motorised vessels), Colac Bay within 200 m of shore in specified areas (Huraki Creek mouth to Wild Court, and 100 m either side of the 'Surfers Shed'), Oreti Beach within 200 m of shore from 200 m north to 400 m south of Dunns Road, and the defined Porpoise Bay area. Minimum age: under 15 only with direct supervision (cl 3.1).
Kayak, paddle board and kite rules
Kiteboarders, windsurfers and sailboarders are exempt from the PFD rules if wearing a wetsuit. SUPs are exempt only while riding breaking waves with a leg rope; otherwise the ≤6 m wear rule applies. ES publishes a stand-up paddleboarding safety guide.
Other Southland rules
Communications (cl 2.2): carry a means of communication that works from anywhere you will operate and for the whole trip; on vessels 6 m and under it must work after immersion in sea water (ES advice: two forms). Ski lanes: three at Te Anau, one each at the Lower Ōreti, Lake Manapōuri and Riverton – enter/exit anticlockwise by the most direct route, returning vessels have right of way, no swimming or parking in lanes; towed people must wear lifejackets and an observer aged 10+ is required. Fiordland Marine Area: vessels within 1 NM of its landward boundary need a Clean Vessel Pass. Hazards: railway irons in some Southland rivers; extra care on the lower Ōreti River.
Popular boating waters in Southland
- Bluff Harbour and Foveaux Strait
- Stewart Island / Rakiura
- Lake Te Anau
- Lake Manapōuri
- Riverton / Aparima
- Lower Ōreti River and Oreti Beach
- Fiordland (Milford Sound / Piopiotahi, Doubtful Sound / Patea)
- Mavora Lakes
Some of the waters local boaties know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Southland waters
- Life in danger? Tap “Yes” and the app dials 111. The screen shows your GPS position in words and a word-for-word script that starts “Police. Boat emergency, I’m on the water.”, then where you are and what happened.
- The rescue-centre list also has RCCNZ (0508 472 269) as a second Call button for offshore, and a VHF Channel 16 MAYDAY text filled with your boat’s details for you to read on your own radio.
- A live link for family ashore (Plus, free during the beta): your position, speed, course and phone battery in any browser, no app needed on their end. You send it by text yourself.
- Not an emergency? Tap “No” for Coastguard’s non-urgent line, 0800 262 843 option 1 (the same help as *500, which iPhone apps can’t dial).
What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t log a Coastguard trip report or bar crossing report, and it isn’t connected to 111, Police, Coastguard or RCCNZ. Nobody is alerted automatically if you’re late: the return-time check only asks “Are you OK?” on your own phone. The Coastguard app does text your shore contact after three unanswered prompts, so log your trip with Coastguard as well. A phone doesn’t replace a VHF radio, an EPIRB or PLB, or a lifejacket.
iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android. New Zealand support (111 routing) is in beta version 1.5 and later.
Quick answers
Do you have to wear a lifejacket in Southland?
From Friday 9 October 2026, everyone on board recreational craft 6 m or under must wear a lifejacket while underway, everywhere in New Zealand, Southland included. The regional rule: Bylaw cl 2.1. Carry: no recreational craft may be used unless enough correctly sized PFDs in good condition are on board and readily accessible. Wear: every person on board a craft 6 m or less must wear a properly secured PFD (no skipper waiver); on any recreational craft everyone must wear one when tides, river flows, visibility, rough seas, bad weather or emergencies create risk. People being towed must wear one (except towing under 5 knots or approved sport). Exempt: surfboards and similar unpowered craft; sailboarders, kiteboarders and windsurfers in a wetsuit; divers on boats ≤6 m within 5 miles of shore in a full dive suit; approved supervised sport; visiting foreign teams; SUP riders riding breaking waves with a leg rope; commercial rafts. Paddle craft may use a 'paddle craft only' buoyancy aid marked as set out in cl 2.1.9. ES summary: lifejackets must be worn in vessels 6 m and under, carried in all vessels and worn at times of heightened risk.
What is the speed limit near the shore in Southland?
Bylaw cl 3.2: 5 knots within 50 m of any vessel, raft or person in the water; within 200 m of the shore or any structure; within 200 m of a vessel or raft flying Flag A (dive flag); and on a powered vessel while anyone is over the bow or side. ES notes the 200 m shore limit effectively applies on all Southland freshwater rivers unless a permanent speed uplift exists (listed in the bylaw/Beacon GIS); temporary uplifts must be requested from the Harbourmaster (Schedule 8). Lower Ōreti River activity zones A–D with set speed limits (e.g. Zone B: PWCs unrestricted beyond 10 m from the shore). Milford Sound: vessels more than 100 m from shore may exceed 5 knots only if travelling clockwise and at no more than 15 knots (not in Freshwater Basin or Deep Water Basin, where 5-knot rules apply everywhere). Doubtful Sound: more than 5 knots in Hall Arm (south-west of the Narrows) is prohibited. Porpoise Bay: motorised vessels over 5 knots prohibited in the defined area. Under 15s: national rule repeated in cl 3.1 (direct supervision within reach of the controls).
Do jet skis need to be registered in Southland?
No PWC registration or licence in the bylaw (no general vessel-ID clause found either). PWCs prohibited: North Mavora Lake (also hovercraft; South Mavora Lake bans all motorised vessels), Colac Bay within 200 m of shore in specified areas (Huraki Creek mouth to Wild Court, and 100 m either side of the 'Surfers Shed'), Oreti Beach within 200 m of shore from 200 m north to 400 m south of Dunns Road, and the defined Porpoise Bay area. Minimum age: under 15 only with direct supervision (cl 3.1).
Sources
Regional authority: Environment Southland (Southland Regional Council) – Maritime team / Regional Harbourmaster
- https://www.es.govt.nz/environment/maritime
- https://www.es.govt.nz/environment/maritime/rules-and-safety-information
- https://www.es.govt.nz/environment/maritime/jet-boating
- https://www.es.govt.nz/environment/maritime/ski-lanes
- https://www.es.govt.nz/environment/maritime/meet-the-team
- https://www.es.govt.nz/about-us/plans-and-strategies/bylaws/navigation-safety-bylaws
- https://www.es.govt.nz/contact-us
- https://www.es.govt.nz/repository/libraries/id:26gi9ayo517q9stt81sd/hierarchy/about-us/plans-and-strategies/bylaws/navigation%20safety%20bylaws/documents/navigation_safety_bylaws.pdf
- https://www.coastguard.nz/lifejacket-changes
- https://www.boprc.govt.nz/living-in-the-bay/boating-in-the-bay/recreational-boating/lifejackets/
- https://www.orc.govt.nz/environment/harbourmaster/recreational-water-use
Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm with Environment Southland before you go.
This page summarises the rules for planning; it isn’t legal advice. Where this page and the official text differ, the official text wins. Spotted an error? Email support@vesselsos.com.