SYDNEY, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Australia's picturesque Gold Coast is a haven for holiday makers, beachgoers and boating enthusiasts, but State Government authorities in Queensland have become increasingly concerned about some of the dangerous behaviour taking place in the city's waterways.
That's why the Gold Coast Waterway Authority have announced Tuesday, they will install a network of hi-tech marine camera to target wreckless seafarers.
"The high definition, low light cameras will hugely enhance the ability to identify boating congestion, reckless behaviour and rapidly identify emerging situations," Queensland's transport and main roads minister Mark Bailey explained.
"While compliance agencies such as Maritime Safety Queensland, Water Police and Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrols currently use several fixed cameras in some locations, the new relocatable cameras have the advantage of being able to target individual hot spots at short notice giving compliance officers immediate feedback."
A range of other surveillance measures are also being utilized to go after tow-in surfers -- who use jet skis to ride monster waves too powerful to paddle into.
Although the practice is not illegal, riders must follow strict protocols under the Maritime Safety Queensland code of conduct.
"It has become increasingly obvious some jet ski riders simply do not feel the need to obey rules requiring them to keep to six knots within 60 metres of a swimmer or surfer or ceasing operation completely when paddlers are in the water," Bailey said.
"Some of these riders who have been ignoring speed limits and safe distance rules in the surf believed they were untouchable because they couldn't be identified or pursued but that has changed."
"Maritime Safety Queensland is now using a state-of-art camera capable of fast-image capture over very long distances which identifies offenders and provides sufficient evidence for legal action."
The Gold Coast is currently hosting the Commonwealth Games, with more than 700,000 visitors expected to the city over the two week period from April 4-15. Enditem. Source: China.org.cn
