eFoil regulations & spots in Fiji

Fiji's maritime rules come from the Maritime Transport Decree 2013 and a set of 2014 regulations administered by the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji (MSAF). None mentions eFoils or electric surfboards. The closest fits are the Maritime (Pleasure Craft) Regulations 2014, which cover any "propelled pleasure craft", defined as a pleasure craft "powered by an engine of any horsepower or kilowatts", and the Maritime (Jet Ski and Recreational Boat) Regulations 2014, which apply only to commercial jet-ski and hire-boat operations. A privately owned eFoil therefore sits, on paper, in the pleasure-craft regime; a resort or school hiring out eFoils sits in the jet-ski regime.

Under the Pleasure Craft Regulations a propelled pleasure craft must be registered once with MSAF (no annual renewal), surveyed initially and every three years, and its operator must hold at least a Boat Master Licence or equivalent and know the COLREGs; each breach is an infringement with a fine of up to FJ$300, and MSAF may grant an exemption from registration and survey on application. The Fiji Small Craft Code sets 16 as the minimum age for a Boat Master Licence. Commercial operators need a Certificate of Compliance, an approved Safe Operational Plan, a demarcated operating area, a rescue boat and life jackets or PFDs available for adults and children; they may not let anyone under 16 drive, and 16- to 17-year-olds must be directly supervised by someone aged 18 or over. Operator breaches carry fines of up to FJ$3,000. No rule found requires a private rider to wear a PFD or sets a private-use minimum age.

The sources contain no general speed limit or distance-from-shore rule for small craft. Commercial jet-ski operations are confined to the demarcated area named on their certificate and must keep a "safe formation" when touring beyond it. Resort watersports centres operate under these certificates and define where guests may ride. Keep clear of buoyed swimming areas, the harbour approaches at Suva, Lautoka and Denarau marina, and village beaches and fishing grounds, where landowners expect to be asked before motorised craft are used.

MSAF enforces through certification audits and can suspend or cancel operator certificates; in September 2025 it publicly warned coastal tourism operators that running jet-ski and watersports activities without a Certificate of Compliance is illegal. Enforcement against private small craft is lighter. Rules are national, but resorts add their own conditions. If importing a personal board, ask MSAF whether it will register it as a pleasure craft or grant an exemption, and hold a Boat Master Licence to be clearly compliant; if hiring, use an operator that can show a current Certificate of Compliance.