Permit· Moorea· French Polynesia — Society Islands

Moorea Anchoring Rules & ZMR Booking (DPAM)

17° 30.0′ S · 149° 49.3′ W · approximate

How Moorea's regulated anchorage zones (ZMR) work, and where they stand legally in late 2026. The pin is the Paopao Sud ZMR, the largest zone.

Society IslandsTahiti & Moorea

Practical

Pin placed at the Paopao Sud ZMR centre for reference only. System: overnight places (4pm to 9am) are booked on escales.gov.pf, by email to escales.dpam@administration.gov.pf or by phone to DPAM (40 54 45 78, 24/7). Boats under 20 m may use ZMR places freely between 9am and 4pm within the quota. The 2025 decree also banned anchoring in channels and passes, banned underwater/floodlights in the zones, set 5 knots and no sailing inside the zones, and banned diving and jet skis in occupied zones. The service was free in its pilot phase and the brief says fees will apply from 2026. Separately, the Papeete Autonomous Port harbourmaster wants entry and exit notices for Moorea stops (traficmaritime@portppt.pf). Annulment: the tribunal annulled decree 910 CM on 15 July 2026 for procedural misuse (the rules should have gone through a PGEM revision), and the Paris appeal court's partial annulment of the 2021 PGEM anchoring chapter took effect on 1 June 2026. Exemptions in the decree: boats without accommodation of 10 m or less staying 24 h or less, and traditional voyaging canoes. Legal status (Oct 2026): the ZMR quotas come from arrêté 910 CM of 26 June 2025, which the Administrative Tribunal of French Polynesia annulled on 15 July 2026 (case 2500441, brought by the Association des Voiliers en Polynésie); the anchoring articles of the 2021 PGEM were also annulled by the Paris appeal court with effect from 1 June 2026. Noonsite (Aug 2026) reports the restrictions are not currently ratified and talks between AVP and local groups are ongoing. Until a replacement rule is published, treat the ZMR quotas and 48-hour limit as the expected good practice, check escales.gov.pf or call DPAM (40 54 45 78, 24/7) before arriving, and expect the nautical patrol (87 704 657) to ask about your stay.

Best for

Knowing the rules before you drop the hook

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