Comparing the recently reinstated no-wake zone at the mouth of the Merrimack River to a highway speed limit sign, Salisbury Harbormaster Ray Pike said they are doing some good but are not fool proof.

"I would say, as can be predicted, that (boaters) obey when we are there, especially when our blue lights are flashing," Pike said. "But a lot of people, when we are not there, a lot of people are still committing violations."

In other words, many boats continue to barrel through the mouth, mixing with slower boaters obeying the no-wake zone, and sending their wakes to stationary boats anchored alongside the channel to fish.

The two no-wake buoys marking the zone float between buoy 8, near Butler's Toothpick, and buoy 11, near Badgers Rocks, a well-known patch of rocks on the Salisbury side. The buoys were first put out two years ago and again last year. But this year, they went out late, well into the summer months, because in October, when Pike and others went to retrieve the buoys for the winter, they were missing.

The buoys have been a polarizing issue with boaters on the Merrimack. Some boaters want to take off through the mouth to get the ocean. But many others say those boats create wakes that endanger the fishermen who often anchor in the area hoping to land a striper or bluefish.

Pike said since they put the buoys back out late last month, there's been a consistent number of boaters who disregard the buoys.

"They stop quite a few people and tell them to slow down," Pike said. "The no-wake buoys by themselves do not cause people to stop."

The area is popular with fishermen from throughout the region. Many striped bass and bluefish make their way through the mouth.

To catch those fish, small boats often anchor or drift there, hoping to snag a fish. Pike said not only is it a problem that boats blast through the mouth, but also boats do not heed the rules and anchor in the channel.

"If they are in the channel, the boats are going to be closer to them when they go by," Pike said. "I would say that is a bigger danger, because if there is a fog or something going on, they can get run over."

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Dan Farina said the no-wake zone is to protect the boater and keep the area in order. The Coast Guard also patrols the area.

"It is just for the safety of everyone who fishes in that area," he said. "There are a lot of larger vessels that throw large wakes."

Many of the boats out in the river, especially those with outboard motors, have very short freeboard, the distance between the top of the boat and the water's surface, Farina said. A large wake or wave can wash over the side of such a boat and possibly sink it.

"It is a safety issue," Farina said. "That's what it's there for."

Pike said he does not get frustrated with the disobedience, just as he suspects a state police trooper does not grow irritated at drivers when they speed.

"It's normal business," he said. "I don't expect human nature to change just because we put up some signs. What it does do, though, is give us more legitimacy if we write a ticket. It helps out in court."