![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Pool-in-article-87.png\")
\u201cWe understand the surf cam for Winki Pop is installed on private property, and we are investigating further,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for GORCAPA said it had not been approached about live surf cameras, but \u201cwe encourage anyone to contacts us directly to discuss their concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n
Leaving legal licencing issues aside, the Surfrider Foundation\u2019s Surf Coast branch president John Foss argued that social licences must also be considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere should be genuine and collaborative consultation with the local community and relevant stakeholders prior to a surf cam being installed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Swellnet did not respond to multiple requests for comment, including questions about how it consulted with communities where it was installing live cameras.<\/p>\n
Another camera that recently went live at Wye River is raising similar issues among the community there, leading to an online petition for its removal signed by close to 200 people.<\/p>\n
The company has a history of encountering opposition to its cameras. A former Swellnet surf reporter said a decision to install a camera at Lennox Head in northern NSW was made after being told it was a bad idea.<\/p>\n
\u201cHead honcho Ben Matson was told in writing eight years ago when he floated the proposal past me. He was aware of the opposition to his cam \u2026 as his local surf reporter, I let him know,\u201d Steve Shearer wrote in Surfing Life in 2017.<\/p>\n The Lennox Head camera no longer operates, but dozens more have popped up in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, most behind a paywall.<\/p>\n Former Lorne local Wayne Lynch sighed when he learnt a camera had gone in at Wye River, a spot he was one of the first to surf.<\/p>\n Now living close to Yamba in NSW where Swellnet also has a live surf cam, the legendary surfer and shaper described the cameras as exploitation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really representative of the way everything is going.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a sense you\u2019re destroying the area, or the feeling of being in that area.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople get told, what to do, where to go, how to do it, very few people work it out for themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cWe grew up in a time that there was no telephones, the only thing that we ever got to see was a weather map on TV, or a weather map in a newspaper \u2026 there was a whole body of knowledge you accumulated as a surfer and it was as important to learn that as it was to surf.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something that bothers all of us older guys, the culture of surfing is just being eroded.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A SURF cam installed on private property broadcasting live vision of Winki Pop is being investigated by the Surf Coast Shire. Operated by Swellnet, the camera is only accessible via a paid subscription, as are several others the company operates in the region at Bellarine, Surf Coast and Phillip Island breaks. \u201cWe are aware of […]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/05\/Pool-in-article-88.png\")