Leo Moore told the Otago Daily Times commercial boats were regularly pulling up at the constrained Back Beach and creating unsafe conditions for recreational users.
The boats were bigger than the posted 10m limit, created excessive wake, and were capable of damaging the public infrastructure they used — but authorities did not seem interested in addressing the matter, Mr Moore said.
Before contacting the newspaper, he contacted the Dunedin City Council, but his query went unanswered, he said.
He supplied the ODT with several photographs, including one of Albatross Express loading passengers at the wharf.
In one of the photographs he provided, signage clearly states: "Vessels using Back Beach pontoons must be less than 10m in length and less than 10 tonnes."
"It's unsafe to have such big boats in such a small area, in my view," Mr Moore said.
"I guess when they're on the water, that defers to the harbourmaster — and then as soon as they're tied up for the pontoons, that's DCC, which I think is also the issue.
"There's a slight grey area on who wants to take responsibility for it, but that doesn't mean that no-one should."
Despite his boat being larger than the posted 10m restriction, Mr Reid said the signage in place "doesn't have any sort of standing".
"It [10m] was a number plucked out of the air."
Otago Regional Council harbourmaster Steve Rushbrook said Back Beach boasted "the busiest boat ramp in the harbour".
He said his team was often at Back Beach, but had no reported navigational incidents there.
He said he had no role in policing the infrastructure on site, which was owned by the DCC.
"The jetties are rated for weight and size by the DCC," he said.
The DCC response to ODT questions did not address the issue of oversize boats using the facilities, but instead said there was no prohibition on commercial use.
"The permit does not explicitly restrict commercial uses of the facilities, but where concerns are raised we engage with operators to discuss their use of the facilities," a DCC spokesman said.
"The use of Back Beach facilities by commercial operators will also be discussed as part of the Otago Harbour Reserve Management Plan review hearings, but we can’t pre-determine any outcomes."
Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said he was aware of some opposition to the port company’s previously publicised vision for the area, but reaffirmed he wanted to see more of the type of offering Mr Reid was able to provide.
Port Otago believed there was a shortage of purpose-built facilities for both recreational and commercial users in the harbour "and potentially there's a good option in Back Beach to be able to do something nice".
"Alternatively, we can expand our Carey's Bay marina to do the same, and clearly there's just a bit of a shortage and we need to address the demand in the long term to sustain our cruise visits, which is great for our economy.
"The more product offerings we have for our cruise passengers in our region, the more enticing it is for the cruise lines to come here."
The DCC website said hearings for the harbour plan would take place on March 17.
