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Category Archives: Beaches

Shark patrols start early

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NICOLE ASHER Bunbury Herald September 30, 2014, 11:59 am

Aerial shark patrols off Bunbury beaches began at the weekend and will run every day during the school holidays.

The patrols started eight weeks earlier than usual and will patrol beaches between Bunbury and Margaret River during the busy holiday period.

After the holidays, the patrols will be scaled back to weekends only until daily patrols begin again at the end of November.

The extra eight weeks of aerial patrols will cost the State Government $650,000.

Premier Colin Barnett said the extra patrols were to provide greater protection to beach users in the South West.

He said the move would bring the regional patrols in line with patrols in the metropolitan area.

Aerial patrols have proven very useful in spotting potential shark threats and, combined with local government and surf lifesavers on the shore, have enabled beach users to get real time advice on the risks at beaches, Mr Barnett said.

Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club president Peter Duncan said the clubs beach patrols would begin on Saturday.

He said lifeguards would monitor the ocean for sharks but was confident they would not impact on swimmers. Mr Duncan could not recall the beach ever being closed because of a big shark being sighted.

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Shark patrols start early

Health fears as 14 Scottish beaches fail pollution tests

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Heads of Ayr and Lunan Bay in Angus are worst offenders for illegal contaminants By Rob Edwards Environment Editor

The annual survey of Scotland's bathing waters, due to be unveiled by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) this week, will show that contamination from human and animal faeces this summer has been worse than last year.

The two dirtiest beaches were at Heads of Ayr in South Ayrshire and Lunan Bay in Angus, which suffered so much pollution that they failed to meet basic sewage safety limits introduced 38 years ago. Last year, no beaches in Scotland breached these limits.

But this year three samples of water at Heads of Ayr in May and August contained levels of toxic E-coli bacteria in breach of the legal limits. According to Sepa, this was because heavy rain caused "sewer overflows" and washed animal waste from farmland and urban areas.

Another two beaches - Irvine in North Ayrshire and Eyemouth in the Borders - also recorded five sample failures between them. But four of these are liable to be discounted because they were correctly predicted by electronic warning signs at the beaches.

Ten other beaches - in Ayrshire, Argyll, Edinburgh, East Lothian, Angus, Moray and Highland - had single water samples that failed the safety limits this summer (see table below). The contamination from bacteria and viruses can cause ear and stomach infections and, in extreme cases, be fatal.

Next year, much tougher new standards will come into force, meaning that many more bathing waters will be classified as badly polluted. In June, Sepa estimated that as many as 20 could be officially rated as "poor" under the new system.

The pollution has come under fierce fire from environmental groups worried about the health implications. "It's very disappointing that Scotland's beautiful beaches continue to fail the most basic water quality standards," said Andy Cummins, campaigns director of Surfers Against Sewage.

"We are concerned that a wetter bathing season, combined with new, tougher water quality standards will result in a dramatic number of Scottish beaches failing water quality standards in the coming years."

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Health fears as 14 Scottish beaches fail pollution tests

Debating What's More Sacred: Private Land or Public Beaches

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Texas has long prided itself on its Open Beaches Act, which guarantees public access to beaches along most of the states 367-mile Gulf Coast.

But public beach advocates say a recent Texas Supreme Court decision which is supported by the front-runner in the race to be the state's next land commissioner and a growing property rights movement could endanger that guarantee. They fear that as beaches face impacts from coastal erosion, rising sea levels and the threat of powerful storms, private property rights could take precedence over access to public beach access.

We have two rock-solid principles: public access to public beaches, and the right of private owners to exclude others from the property which is theirs, said David Abraham, a law professor at the University of Miami. Theyre always in tension, but if we face issues like sea-level rise and increasingly severe storms, theres going to be less stability in that balance.

For decades, the Open Beaches Act which was voted into the Texas Constitution in 2009 was a signal to coastline property owners that if erosion or a storm wiped out the public beach behind them, their homes could become state property. In the past several years, the General Land Office, the state agency that deals with coastal issues, has taken 18 properties for such reasons, reimbursing owners $50,000 each.

After Hurricane Rita hit Texas in 2005, Carol Severance sued the state after it said her Galveston property was now in the public domain. In 2010, the Texas Supreme Court ruled in her favor, saying the property remained private because the beach had been wiped out through an avulsive event, like a big storm rather than imperceptible coastal erosion.

Public beach advocates say the decision went too far. Rob Nixon, chairman of the Surfrider Foundations South Texas chapter, said it sets up unrestricted development of the coast, which is going to ultimately put the Texas taxpayer and public on the dime for bailing all these people out.

But many private property rights advocates hailed the ruling. Among the supporters is George P. Bush, a Republican widely expected to win the November election to head the General Land Office.

I dont believe that the state should take land in the event of storms, Bush said recently during an event hosted by The Texas Tribune. He added that landowners whose property has been taken were not compensated enough, and that there are many other places along the coast that the public can access without threatening private property interests.

The current land commissioner, Jerry Patterson, who was named in the Severance lawsuit, has excoriated the Severance ruling as weakening public access in a Californication of Texas beaches. As a result of the decision, the General Land Office canceled a $40 million beach nourishment project in Galveston for fear of illegally spending public money on private land.

Patterson said he feared more similar projects would have to be abandoned.

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Debating What's More Sacred: Private Land or Public Beaches

Top 10 cycling trips in Australia

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Alamy

BIKES ONLY: Rottnest Island.

For many travellers, thoughts of cycling trips conjure up only foreign images - French vineyards, Tuscan hills, Cuban beaches - but there are roads and trails just across the ditch that are just as enticing.

Though the vast distances of the open Australian highway may not appeal, there are numerous bike-friendly options that beckon right across the country. Here's our pick of the best cycling trips.

HIGH COUNTRY BREWERY TRAIL

BEERS AND BIKES: On the High Country Brewery Trail.

Three ingredients for a great cycling trip: a mountain bike, the trails ofVictoria's High Countryand a handful of craft breweries.

In a line from Glenrowan to Mt Beauty, four local brewers have combined to produce a booklet detailing each of their favourite mountain bike rides, ranging from a scenic roll through the Warby Range, to a whirl around the Beechworth Mountain Bike Park, to a gentle spin along the river in Bright. A beer awaits at the end of every ride, of course.

Download the booklet atmurraytomountains.com.au

GREAT OCEAN ROAD: Great for driving, even better for cycling.

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Top 10 cycling trips in Australia

Shark nets for 22 WA beaches

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Prototype: The shark net at Dunsborough. Picture: Angela Pownall/The West Australian

Up to 22 WA beaches could be fitted with nets to keep out sharks after a review identified areas along the State's coast suitable for non-lethal barriers.

Cottesloe, Gracetown, Rottnest Island, Bunker Bay - all sites of recent fatal shark attacks - are among beaches earmarked for netting in a new State Government-commissioned report.

As the Government moves away from its controversial drum-line policy it scrapped two weeks ago, Premier Colin Barnett is expected to make an announcement about new beach enclosures in the South West today.

Mr Barnett told The West Australian yesterday there were opportunities to install shark-proof nets at beaches beyond Dunsborough, where a 500m-long enclosure was tested last summer.

"Enclosures are best suited to protected areas and popular or highly utilised beaches," he said.

"Given the recent spate of shark attacks, beaches in the South West would be a priority."

Environmental consultancy Hydrobiology was commissioned to review the trial in Dunsborough, where shark-proof netting was held up by permanently installed pilings, and to identify other beaches suitable for nets.

"Much of the central and southern coastline of Western Australia, the most populated area, has a low tidal area range, which is ideal for installation of beach enclosures," the report said.

"There are many locations that would facilitate the construction of further beach enclosures without initiating significant engineering works."

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Shark nets for 22 WA beaches


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