Growing crowds on Oamaru's breakwater at dusk are becoming ''increasingly dangerous and disrespectful'' as they watch penguins come ashore, Tourism Waitaki general manager Jason Gaskill says.
Since gates allowing public access to the breakwater were left permanently open in the spring, up to 100 people a day have gathered along the breakwater outside the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony on summer nights to watch rafts of little penguins come ashore at the colony.
Mr Gaskill said the while Tourism Waitaki was primarily concerned about the safety of the crowd on the breakwater at night, the tourism body, which manages the penguin colony, had concerns about the ''potential impact'' the crowds could have on the penguins' welfare as well.
''There are more people there, more frequently, causing greater disruption than before,'' Mr Gaskill said.
''They can be quite loud, they're obviously taking flash photography, they're climbing down on to the rocks. Their behaviour can just be a little bit aggressive at times.''
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he visited the breakwater on several nights recently to count the number of people gathering and agreed safety was a primary concern.
But further, the revenue from the penguin colony allowed the council to reduce the ratepayers' contribution to Tourism Waitaki for tourism promotion.
''It's not about trying to stop people from getting a free look as such,'' he said. But as the penguin colony was ''essentially'' a community-owned company, lost revenue from the colony meant Tourism Waitaki would have a greater reliance on ratepayer funding.
Tourism revenue at the colony ''means the tourists are actually paying for tourism promotion [Tourism Waitaki] more and more''.
The Otago Daily Times reported in December colony staff had counted a record 301 birds arriving at the colony during an evening in November.
And Mr Kircher said the work put into the colony - the health of the colony and the number of birds arriving at night - was in part a result of paying tourists, and so ''the non-paying tourists or locals are freeloading''.
Tourism Waitaki board member James Glucksman said the issue had only been discussed generally by the board.
''We've said 'penguins are a natural resource, we don't have a monopoly on them','' he said.
But he noted that as a hotelier in Oamaru, he did not send guests to the breakwater, due to the ''obvious safety concerns''.
''I'm not sure that it's a safe thing to do given that it's a breakwater that I often see being swamped with waves.''
Waitaki District Council accounting manager Ian Wells confirmed the council had recently decreased its annual contribution to Tourism Waitaki operating costs by $100,000.
Outside of some additional funding for the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail, in 2014-15 Tourism Waitaki received $600,000 in council operating grants. In 2015-16, it received $500,000.
Mr Wells said $500,000 in council operating grants was planned for 2016-17 as well.
Tourism Waitaki's last annual report shows in 2014-15 the penguin colony generated $1,088,292 for the council-controlled company.
In 2015-16, the revenue rose to $1,374,646, almost 60% of the tourism body's revenue of $2,370,389.
