Victoria teases live-feed webcams for boat ramps

The move comes as Maritime Safety Victoria announces it is working on a new one-stop website and smartphone app specifically for the state’s boat ramps to help people plan their day out on the bay.

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“The new website and app will provide a one-stop-shop – in partnership with local councils, waterway managers and other agencies – dedicated to helping you prepare to head out on the water,” MSV said in a statement announcing its plans.

“MSV is currently updating and installing new camera technology at various locations. Vision from these cameras will be hosted exclusively on the new website and app, in time for the coming boating season (October 2019).”

Features will include live video feeds of boat ramp and car parks, “comprehensive” local weather information; weather and waterway warnings; safety advice; and facility and waterway information.

The new website will replace a service offered by Victorian Recreational Fishing, which has lost its access to existing boat ramp cameras.

“For the last few years VRFish has been providing you with valuable webcam feeds from selected boat ramps in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port to help you plan your fishing trip, gauge how busy the ramp is and find out if there are any boat trailer parking spots left,” VRFish said.

“The bad news is we no longer have access to the webcams,” it said. “While we are disappointed we can no longer provide this hugely popular service, the good news is we have been briefed by Maritime Safety Victoria (Boat Safe Ride Safe) who are developing a new one-stop-stop website and app that will be ready for launch in October.”

An image posted on Maritime Safety Victoria’s website shows the website and app will show images of the boat ramp, as well as its status; in this instance, the ramp is rated as “open and quiet”.

To one side is the current weather and wind direction and strength – 27 knots from the north-northwest would make conditions on either Port Phillip Bay or Western Port interesting – with other menus for live camera feeds, more in-depth weather, what looks like warnings and on-water safety below.

“From what we have seen in development, the product promises to be an excellent tool for fishers, in conjunction with adding more boat ramp webcams to expand the service,” VRFish said.

In 2018, the Daniel Andrews Labor Government promised to plough around $27 million in revenue raised via fishing and boat licensing into improving facilities and making boating cheaper throughout the state if it was returned to power in an election.

It did, and has already removed launching and parking fees from a number of high-traffic boat ramps.

The popularity of the state government’s move coerced both the Federal Government and Opposition into trying to woo fishers and boaters with pro-fishing policies in the 2019 Federal Election.