Boat owners in a Moray village have accused the local authority of producing “misleading” figures after berthing charge price increases were agreed.
Sailors believe the rise in tariffs could signal the “death of the harbours”.
Council staff came up with a range of proposals in an attempt to cut the £135,000 deficit publicly-owned ports in the region are currently running at.
Councillors voted for the increased charges and the scrapping of a 25% over-60s discount after price comparisons with Aberdeenshire and Highlands were presented.
But Phil Mowat, chairman of Hopeman Boat Owners Association, believes the figures produced were unfair and is now considering stepping down over the move.
He said: “The ones we were getting compared against included security fences and electricity at the pontoons.
“Lossiemouth is a marina with all those services but Hopeman and the other harbours are nothing like that.
“The costs were presented in such a way to make Moray look like they were under-charging, but when you compare like-for-like we are on a par – if not slightly more expensive.
“There’s a lot of shock over this. Hopeman has been silting up despite us being promised dredging. It’s too much for some members.”
Last night, Moray Council insisted that – regardless of comparisons with other regions – the new fees still represented “good value”.
Mr Mowat said members understood the financial strains the authority was operating under and were happy to pay up to 25% extra.
He also called on the council to investigate whether private money could be invested in the harbours to help them break-even.
The increases will mean monthly pontoon charges rising by £20 to £60 per metre (about 3ft) and by £10 to £50 for vessels berthed at harbour walls.
Hopeman boat owner Tim Tregale will see his monthly costs double due to the over 60s discount also being scrapped.
He said: “The way it was handled was very misleading. I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect people to pay a 100% increase, some people aren’t going to return again.
“I think this will be the death of the harbour as a community. It’ll still be there but won’t have the same amount of clientele, which will have knock-on effects to other businesses in the village.”
A Moray Council spokesman said: “Regardless of any comparisons, given the berthing fees have not increased above inflation since 2008, they remain good value at the new rates.
“For a five-metre (about 16ft) vessel the annual cost equates to less than £6 a week.”
The increases will be applied at Hopeman, Findochty, Cullen, Portknockie, Buckie and Burghead.