The specialist response division assisted the Victoria Police dog squad, fisheries and local members during the first weekend since social distancing restrictions eased.

Senior Sergeant Paul Gatty, of the Water Police Squad, said members checked 170 vessels over the three-day operation which started in Portland and ended in Port Fairy.

"There were three infringement notices issued for minor safety breaches," he said.

"There were also a handful of verbal warnings provided to boat operators before giving them the opportunity to rectify the issue before they launched."

Senior Sergeant Gatty said there were no reports of people breaching social distancing rules.

Gatherings of up to five people were permitted in households from last Wednesday and up to 10 people for outdoor activities including fishing, hiking and golf.

The new guidelines do not allow people to stay over at another residence.

"About 30 per cent of people were from out of the local area and they indicated they were returning home at the end of their trip," Senior Sergeant Gatty said.

"We were very pleased with the behaviour of everybody, there were no major issues or concerns in terms of safety.

"And due to our attendance, two local marine supply shops completely ran out of safety flares."

Increased signage is being credited with reducing the number of tourists flouting coronavirus social distancing restrictions at the iconic Twelve Apostles on Sunday.

On Saturday police issues 21 fines at the closed Twelve Apostles lookout.

The $1652 fines were issued to a range of Australian, German and French tourists.

Locked gates and building site barriers did little to dissuade tourists on Saturday, but additional electronic signage was installed which appeared to make a difference.

Only four people, two couples, were issued with tickets on Sunday.

There was signage placed on the Great Ocean Road at Lorne, at Geelong's Mount Duneed exit and at Forest Road, Bellbrae, displaying a message that the Twelve Apostles site was closed.

Police sources said those additional signs seemed to make a difference to visitor numbers after officers reported a large number of tourists on Saturday despite signage at Geelong, Port Campbell and Lorne.

The Twelve Apostles remain closed in an effort to reduce congestion and abide by social distancing regulations, however other parks are beginning to open as coronavirus regulations are relaxed.

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