French side Marine Trades Association Métimer has called for a 30-day suspension on collection of anchorage fees to allow room for negotiations with the Port Authority amid fears the new fees are too expensive and may influence boats to visit other islands instead. The fees were implemented on January 1, 2009.
In a release issued by the association, it claims the fees were implemented "without any prior consultation with users, sailors, or professionals in the marine industry."
"The yachtsmen who frequent our island to purchase materials, repair their boats, the efforts that have been made to attract cruising sailors at the trade shows overseas, all the boats that pass through, the marine businesses, all of this has now been confronted with a very disagreeable ‘fait accompli’", the release stated.
The association said it was fully aware of the fact that the Collectivité needed funds for development and that cruising sailors were willing to participate.
It added that the 5 per cent Tax de Séjour, normally applied to hotels, has also been added "against all logic" to the cost of chartering a yacht.
Giving an example of costs, the association estimated a 15-metre yacht would pay 702 euros per year in anchorage fees, more than the Collectivité’s house tax that comes with all services.
The association argues that, for the Port to justify having an anchorage fee, it must offer services and infrastructure.
"There are no anchored moorings in the bay, no dock that has security surveillance, and no information services for sailors, nothing in place since the 1990s yet the destination continues to attract more and more sailors."
Moreover it said improvements announced in the press recently apply to the ferries terminal and these are financed by the passenger tax. The Gendarmerie and the Collectivité are partly responsible for security there.
"The association requests that we be allowed to give our point of view, our proposals, and our experience in this matter, just as we have done with the Réserve Naturelle. If not, there may come a day when we see boats leaving for other more welcoming destinations to the detriment of our marine businesses and employees," the release concluded.