Police in Solomon Islands say banana boat operators should carry no more than six passengers, and fewer people when the weather is not ideal.
The Maritime Division of the Regional Assistance Mission's Participating Police Force has made the call after a banana boat carrying 14 people broke down in choppy seas and capsized, three kilometres off Savo Island last Friday.
Alan Le Lievre of PPF Maritime says it was fortuitous that one of their boats was in the area at the time and able to rescue the 14, a process which took four hours.
He says the banana boats are frequently overloaded but people need to realise the risk that is being taken.
"And that is probably one of the issues from a safety perspective throughout the Pacific Islands, that they do tend to overload them for economic reasons and a whole lot of other things I am sure, but the fact is, they don't understand or they don't seem to understand that they are compromising the safety of the vessel and therefore of the passengers on board."
Alan Le Lievre says the boat operators should also ensure everyone on board is wearing a life jacket.