The Waitaki District Council unanimously approved the Waitaki District Responsible Freedom Camping Bylaw 2016 in September, after many people in the district complained last summer about the problems posed by freedom camping.
Council spokeswoman Alena Lynch said seven infringement notices, each carrying a penalty of $200, were issued to people camping in prohibited areas and they had 28 days to pay.
She said council staff were targeting freedom campers in the coastal area between Moeraki and Oamaru.
She said most people, except one, responded well to council staff.
''One person was very unhappy about being issued an infringement notice, but nothing serious and nothing that would warrant a call to police.''
In March, the council formed a freedom camping sub-committee, chaired by deputy mayor Melanie Tavendale.
Cr Tavendale said the bylaw took pressure off a lot of areas the council had issues with in the past, but there were now teething issues concerning educating people about the bylaw.
''Our community [is] being able to use those areas again rather than being overrun predominantly by campers.
''We're expecting we're going to have to keep looking at it and make sure it's what we want as a community.''
She expected the council to have a debriefing in the near future about how the first holiday went and if the step of warnings was appropriate.
''But from the start we've said we need to have teeth behind our bylaw.''
She said it was difficult to tell if the bylaw had affected the total spend of tourists over the weekend, but she believed there may have been some loss.
''They spend a bit, but less than people who were staying at other accommodation. But no doubt they'll still be spending money in our area.''
