Protect Our Waves Petition

Surfers Call For New Law To Protect Threatened Waves

Sign & Share The Petition Today

www.protectourwaves.org.uk

Surfers Against Sewage is today launching a new campaign calling for UK law to recognise and protect UK surfing waves, beaches and the livelihood of coastal communities.

SAS’s new Protect Our Waves petition  – www.protectourwaves.org.uk – aims to generate over 100,000 signatures to highlight the value of surfing waves and beaches, and encourage Parliament to debate legislation in order to recognise and specifically protect surfing waves as a cultural, social, economic and environmental asset to coastal communities. SAS will deliver the petition to 10 Downing Street in Summer 2013.

British surfing waves are under threat from a growing number of activities around our coastline that could destroy or have long-term devastating impact on some of our most prized surfing beaches. This includes coastal developments, pollution, and restricted access.

Hugo Tagholm, SAS Director says “Surfers Against Sewage is already working to protect a number of threatened surfing breaks around the UK and it is shocking that there is no specific law in the UK to safeguard these amazing natural resources. Waves and surfing beaches should be recognised as part of UK coastal heritage and afforded greater protection and valued as unique, valuable and scarce assets, just like ancient woodland.”

Waves are an important and necessary part of the workings of our planet.  Surfing beaches and waves also have a deep personal value to surfers and surfing communities around the UK.  However, in the UK there is currently no specific legal protection for surfing waves or any assurance that stakeholders, including surfers and surfing communities in Wales, Northern Ireland or England*, will be consulted fairly on activities threatening their existence.

Protect Our Waves Briefing Document: DOWNLOAD

Lord Matthew Taylor says “I’ve long been a supporter of Surfers Against Sewage, helping organize their very first visits to Parliament 22 years ago. Today, they continue to achieve so much for our coastline and their new Protect Our Waves petition, highlighting the importance of protecting surfing waves and beaches from pollution, over-development and marine litter is a vital issue for coastal communities not just in Cornwall but right around the UK. Whether you are a business that depends on clean beaches, an avid surfer or an environmentalist wanting better protection for our coastlines, you should sign and support the petition today.”

Other sports and activities such as walking and sailing are formally recognized, represented and consulted during many new development processes**. Other areas of outstanding beauty and countryside sites are also protected. But politicians, developers and the wider public in general have very little knowledge of the value, uniqueness and finite nature of surfing waves and the landscapes, swell corridors prevailing weather conditions and other conditions creating good quality waves.

9 x European Longboard Champion, Ben Skinner says “I’m signing Surfers Against Sewage petition to help protect surf spots, waves and beaches for this and future generations. Clean, perfect waves and great surf spots are a finite natural resource just like our forests, lakes and mountains, and we must ensure they are protected from over-development, pollution and other environmental threats such as marine litter.”

The campaign has already generated support amongst politicians, surfing industry leaders and musicians, including from music star and surfer Ben Howard, Caroline Lucas MP, Lord Taylor, 9 times European longboard champion Ben Skinner and Ben Freeston, founder of leading global surf forecast site Magicseaweed.com, which has a reach of 1.5 million unique users.

Ben Freeston, Founder of Magicseaweed says “Like many surfers we’ve been so lucky to turn our passion into our livelihood and for both we’re so fortunate to live in a country with almost unrivalled access to the coastline and it’s amazing waves. This campaign aims to set a precedent by adding official recognition and a measure of protection to a truly renewable resource. Recognising its economic importance for those coastal communities building creative and sustainable business around the surf but also socially, for those of us who plan to keep chasing waves for as long as we’re able.”

Surfers Against Sewage is calling for legislation to better recognize and protect UK surfing waves and beaches. Revised criteria could work within the existing Marine & Coastal Access Act, revised Bathing Water Directive, Water Framework Directive and the Clean Neighborhood & Environment Act or be set up as a new piece of legislation.

SAS is delighted to have the support of Magicseaweed to help achieve the ambitious target of 100,000 signatures and look forward to delivering the petition to Downing Street with them next year.

 

Notes:

*In 2009, SAS successfully campaigned to have surfers and recreational water users recognized as stakeholders in the Scottish Marine & Coastal Access Act.

**The Royal Yachting Association (RYA) lobbied for amendments during the 2009 Marine and Coastal Access Act to ensure that the interests and freedoms of the recreational boater were not unfairly compromised by the legislation.  When the Act was ratified and became a Bill, the RYA’s amendments were carried forward. The 2 specific amendments were:

• The removal of referencing recreational boats within bylaws with reference to MCZ exclusions to ensure they don’t restrict recreational boating activities.

• The RYA also argued (successfully) that socio –economic impacts must be taken into account when creating an MCZ.  This was contrary to all other environmental NGOs.

  Offshore Renewables

  Surfers Against Sewage is fully in favour of renewable energy sources, including offshore renewables.   Just as we can tap off a small amount of wave energy to push us along on our boards, we can also extract energy from the winds, tide and waves and re-direct it to generate energy.  However, a priority must always be that renewable energy projects are installed without degrading natural surfing wave resources.  SAS has produced a comprehensive guide aimed at developers of offshore renewables (9). The first document promotes the surfing community as an important stakeholder in this sector, within the existing Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, highlighting sites of special surfing interest that developers should consider and avoid.  Predicting whether wave energy converters (WECs) are going to ruin waves is not straightforward but can always be assessed on a case-by-case basis.    If used effectively it could help speed up the consent process for suitable offshore developments. Fundamentally, the developers need to be made aware of the value of surfing waves, not just to surfers but to the entire community.  Until now, companies proposing to deploy wave energy converters have not considered or researched the value of surfing waves, or how their devices might affect them.

  M&C Saatchi

  M&C Saatchi has created a campaign for Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) to launch the charity’s Protect Our Waves petition.  The creative, which spans print, digital and online, features three apocalyptic surfing associated images, featuring a coffin, noose and graveyard concept.  The three straplines are ‘No Waves . No Surf’, ‘Surfing 1890 – 2013’ and ‘What if the next wave never comes?’.  The work was created by Andrew Long and James Millers, and photographed by Spencer Murphy.

  Protect Our Waves Photography

  The images for the Protect Our Waves Petition campaign were taken by award-winning photographer Spencer Murphy. http://www.spencermurphy.co.uk/

  Spencer lives and works in London, dividing his time between creating his own artwork, taking on photographic commissions and lecturing on photography at University College Falmouth. He has contributed to many magazines, including The Guardian Weekend, The Sunday Telegraph – Seven Magazine, The New Statesman, Monocle and Wired. His portraits have also appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone Magazine, GQ and Dazed and Confused. He has exhibited throughout Europe and North America and was named as one of the Hyeres Festival’s emerging photographers of 2008.  He was also included in the National Portrait Gallery Photographic Portrait Prize (now Taylor Wessing) exhibition in 2006, 2008 and 2009. His work has also been acquired for the NPG’s Pemanent Collection.

  Awards: Sony World Photography Awards, shortlisted 2010 / Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, selected 2009,2008 and 2006 / AOP Photography Awards Bronze Award 2009 / Creative Review Photo Annual, selected 2009 and 2007 / AOP Bursary, winner 2006 /

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2 Comments

• steve king says:

  August 8, 2012 at 5:34 pm

  Can the Severn Bore be added to the list of our waves that need protection. This is due to the ridiculous threat that will not go away to destroy the beautiful Severn Estuary. SAS has not given their opinion on the barrage issue and I would like to know where we stand.
  Best Wishes
  Steve King
  World record holder for the longest distance surfed on a river bore and SAS member
• jamie atkinson says:

  September 27, 2012 at 1:36 pm

  waves are an important part of my recreation as it is for many others and need protection

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