Local MP Julia Goldsworthy has officially launched a new water safety partnership set up in the Fal Estuary area to advise, monitor and regulate recreational boat users.

The MP for Falmouth and Camborne joined members of the Water Activities Safety Partnership (WASP) at Custom House Quay in Falmouth to talk about the work going on to keep boat users safe.

WASP is designed to further enhance the multi-agency approach to promoting safety and effectively regulating recreational craft users in Falmouth Bay and the Fal Estuary. The partnership includes representatives from the police, harbour authorities, maritime and coastguard agency, the RNLI and fire brigade and covers a wide range of issues relating to marine safety including navigation, craft safety, crime prevention, fire prevention and emergency response.

WASP has already had one informal briefing and plan to meet on a regular basis to develop a strategic approach involving the promotion of good practice and ensuring that relevant legislation is enforced.

Three issues have already been highlighted as priorities for the new partnership: speeding motor boats which create a dangerous wash; drinking while in charge of a boat and navigating without lights at night.

Speaking at the launch Julia Goldsworthy, MP for Falmouth and Camborne, said: "More and more people are spending time on the water and boats are getting more and more powerful. At the same time there has been an increase in the number of serious and sadly fatal accidents, as we saw in St Mawes last year.

"There is so much fragmented legislation and there so many different organisations responsible for different aspects of safety in the water. It's easy to make regulations but enforcing them on the ground can be difficult.

"The Water Activity Safety Partnership involving the police, the harbour authorities, the RNLI and the fire brigade, to name but a few, will address the need to work together to make sure there is no overlap in water safety work and that any gaps or loopholes are filled.

"They will be able to work out what the issues and problems are and how they can work together to resolve them. The timing of the launch, at the start of Falmouth Week in the height of summer, is particularly relevant as it's a really busy time on the water."

Cpt Mark Sansom, Harbour Master for Falmouth Harbour Commissioners, said: "There has always been excellent co-operation in this area between the various regulating and response authorities but some of the current legislation is fragmented and safety information is generated from a variety of different sources. We are seeing an increase in popularity of water based activities which has resulted in a corresponding increase in the hazards generated.

"This partnership will allow the development of a co-ordinated overall strategy for managing safety and enforcement issues.

"We are delighted to have had our launch supported by Julia Goldsworthy and look forward to meeting her again soon to discuss in more detail the regulations about safety in the water."