Mooring rental fees in Vineyard Haven are going up by 10 per cent, following a unanimous vote Wednesday by the town select board.

Dockage fees will also increase by $5 a foot of boat length, and transient mooring rentals will rise from $50 per night to $70.

“What we’re trying to do here is just to make an attempt at gaining some parity with the other down Island towns,” harbor master John Crocker told the board.

“A 10 per cent increase is the minimum I would even ask for,” Mr. Crocker said. “We are on the very low end of the spectrum.”

Mr. Crocker said Oak Bluffs charges $300 per year for a mooring in Lagoon Pond and $400 for a harbor mooring, while Edgartown’s annual mooring fee is $200.

Tisbury’s current rates, which depend on vessel length, average $188 per year, Mr. Crocker said.

The increase approved Wednesday will bring the average fee to $207.

Town mooring rates were last raised in 2020.

Also Wednesday, the board approved a letter to the Steamship Authority supporting the 5:30 a.m. freight boat from Woods Hole, which has been a long-running subject of protested by some Falmouth residents.

“A lot of people utilize that 5:30 a.m. [ferry] coming over,” board chairman Jeff Kristal said. “The hospital . . . is one of the largest groups.”

Town administrator John (Jay) Grande expressed frustration that the issue continues to be a point of contention.

“They’ve got to get over this thing,” Mr. Grande said.

“I thought it was a settled matter. I don’t know how it keeps coming back.”

— Louisa Hufstader