Tassie Marine Debris Cleanup

Ten years ago, the Surfrider Foundation began a campaign to address the massive problem of marine debris washing onto Tasmanian shorelines. Apart from causing unsightly pollution on our beaches, marine debris causes the cruel death of untold numbers of marine mammals, birds, and fish.

Matt Dell, spokesperson for the Surfrider Foundation Tasmania said: “Surfrider Foundation has conducted a number of cleanups on the beaches in the South West Wilderness World Heritage Area. The cleanups provide an opportunity to analyse the trends in the types and concentrations of rubbish polluting the pristine beaches of the South West World Heritage Area. The cleanup also provides a chance to interact with the fishermen working on the coast and an avenue for the fisherman to provide advice on how to reduce the impact of Marine Debris”.

The education of local fishermen has been identified as the key to addressing the problem of marine debris, and this year we have again enlisted local cray-fishermen Dave Wyatt, Kent Way, Dean Horton and Stuart Atkins to help raise the profile of this problem among their peers. Dave has been fishing on the West Coast of Tasmania for over 20 years and has provided the mothership for the cleanup since 2001.

As a result of these positive initiatives, Surfrider Foundation received ongoing funding from the Quiksilver Foundation to continue this important work. The support of the Quiksilver Foundation, Southern Ocean Adventures, the Wursthaus Kitchen and the Cascade Brewery is greatly appreciated.

This year we will be taking twelve volunteers and will be publishing a daily online web blog of the trip for Coastalwatch.com, Surfrider Australia and an article in an upcoming Surfing World magazine, and depart on Thursday the 2nd April and plans to return on Thursday the 9th of April, 2009.

For all the information on the cleanup and to watch this blog, visit Surfrider Tassie Marine Debris Cleanup

Australia Day Paddle Out @ Kirra

On January 26th, 2009, more than 1370 registered surfers united to paddle out in protest of the Tweed sand bypass pumping operation, which transfers sand from Fingal beach to Point Danger.” The community has observed that “Kirra Point has not broken as it should since 2002, only 12 months after the start of sand pumping operations.

A multitude of people lined the point along the streets and on stood at Kirra Hill to give their support. It was a day that witnessed surfers and local residents unite for a common cause sending a strong message to NSW and QLD State Governments that change is required now.

Protesters listened to speeches by key guest addressing the management of the sand bypass system the local economy of Kirra and beach amenities before paddling out to form a map of Australia.

This campaign is not only winning the hearts and minds of many surfers but also the local community who have identified that this is a serious issue for the area.
The overwhelming attendance on the day, gives weight to the reasoning that as a united community, we can encourage positive change. It was an honor to have some key figures there on the day including Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Luke Egan, Stephanie Gilmore, Bede Durbidge and Mark Occhilupo, Wayne Deane and MP.