Opposition grows to increasing surf surveillance

THE increasing prevalence of live surfcams at prominent surf spots along the Great Ocean Road is provoking a backlash from locals who say there’s been no community consultation about their installation and potential consequences.

The recent installation of a camera at Wye River by Swellnet prompted Lorne’s William Butler to launch a Change.org petition lobbying operator Swellnet to remove its cameras from Wye, Fairhaven, Lorne Point and Winki Pop.

A total of 121 people signed the petition in the first week of it going live.

“At least the community should have been informed,” Mr Butler said.

“I highly respect what Swellnet have done in the past, forecasting, their articles and obviously I’ve used it, but where’s the line?

“It’s not too much of a stretch to assume that Kennett River is next, and then after that you can see even more places down the coast that are more sacred.”

A key concern from many opposing the cameras is the increased strain on already stressed infrastructure along the coast.

“People are happy to share waves down here, but the infrastructure simply isn’t set up for all these people who will inevitably turn up as a result of the cameras,” Mr Butler argued.

“You’ve already got carparks like Cumberland closing because they’re falling into the ocean, loads of the other carparks and spots are already at capacity.”

A lack of community consultation, overcrowding and unsustainable tourism are key concerns of Lorne’s Rish Williams.

“I’ve been concerned about this issue for a long time …. the more this is normalised the more cameras there will be.

“Installing webcams at relatively quiet spots and making them more common place, opens up the need for more cameras everywhere, and from there it’s a slippery slope.

“Kennett and Apollo Bay surfers are ropeable about the Wye cam because they foresee the next one being installed at Kennett … where does it stop?”

President of the Surfrider Foundation’s Surf Coast Branch John Foss believes the prospective surfcam owners should need to obtain a licence from relevant land managers prior to installation, particularly the Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve.

“GORCAPA and Surf Coast Shire council presently, and have done for many years, require licences and permits to be granted for commercial uses on coastal Crown land that they manage.

“There should be genuine and collaborative consultation with the local community and relevant stakeholders prior to a surfcam being installed.”
Mr Foss also warned of safety issues.

“We consider Winki Pop to be a high performance wave and you really don’t want to be attracting learners who could endanger themselves and others and potentially clog up the lineup.

“Common-sense says leave the remote and high-performance waves camera free.”

Swellnet did not respond to requests for comment, however William Butler said after sharing the petition with the company and asking if more cameras were planned, was told by a spokesperson “there won’t be any need for more cameras after this”.