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There has been recurring talk about a proposal to designate Magens Bay as a no-anchor zone and instead install permanent day-use and transient (overnight) moorings, probably restricted to vessels no more than 60 feet in length. As anchoring often damages life on the ocean floor, such as corals and seagrass beds, this could mitigate some of the existing negative impact to the bay. On the other hand, installing moorings would attract boating activity to Magens, increasing the likelihood of animals (especially those that surface to breathe) being struck by boats and the likelihood of illegal dumping polluting the bay, as well as increasing light & noise pollution. An even more eco-friendly proposal would be to exclude boats & watercraft from the bay entirely. Should moorings be installed, precautions must be taken to reduce the impact of boats: e.g., providing only a very limited number of moorings, placed well beyond the swim area, and actively enforcing for pollution and boat & dinghy traffic safety.
Friends advocates for no moorings (with an exemption for small legacy fishing boats).
Yachts are especially common at Magens over the Christmas holidays, on three-day weekends, and since March 2020 at other times as well, as seen in the following photos:
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