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Category Archives: Beaches

Drum lines gone, 4m shark closes beach

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The 4m shark that has closed Floreat Beach. Picture: Seven News

Perth beaches are being progressively closed as a 4m shark travels north about 100m offshore.

Surf Lifesaving WA says the shark is near a whale.

City and Floreat beaches were closed, but are now reopened, and lifesavers also closed Scarborough and Brighton beaches.

All beaches were reopened at 2pm.

Beachgoers in the northern suburbs were warned to take care as the shark may continue to move north along the coast.

The State Government's shark catch-and-kill policy ended yesterday and drum lines 1km off the coast were removed.

A private contractor removed drum lines in the South West.

Although the final cost of the trial is unknown and the Government is yet to release final figures for the number of sharks and other animals caught, it is understood not one great white shark was caught on a line.

The drum lines were set in late January and early February as part of efforts to catch great white, tiger and bull sharks bigger than 3m.

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Drum lines gone, 4m shark closes beach

Almost all Irish beaches given clean bill of health

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Spectacular drone footage of Hook Head lighthouse on Wexford on a sunny day. Video: WhineyKilliney

Adam McDonnell kitesurfing on Portmarnock strand at the launch of An Taisces Clean Coasts Week, which takes place from May 9th to 18th. Photograph: Naoise Culhane

Beaches that fail to meet EU bathing water quality standards in the future will require to be closed to swimmers for an entire season, the Environmental Protection Agency has warned.

In its latest report on bathing water quality, the EPA found that 97 per cent of Irelands 135 designated bathing places comply with the EU directive mainly due to improvements in sewage treatment systems and better water quality management.

But new EU requirements to assess water quality over a rolling four-year period mean that bathing places which fail to meet the standard will require to be closed to bathers for the entire following season (2015) while still requiring to be monitored.

The new targets represent a further strengthening of measures to protect public health and amount to an almost two-fold decrease in the levels of microbiological contamination deemed to be acceptable for bathing waters, the EPA report for 2013 said.

Of the 135 bathing places, 114 achieved good status, 17 were rated as sufficient and only four bathing waters were rated as poor Clifden, Co Galway; Dugort, on Achill Island, Co Mayo; Ballyloughnane, in Galway city; and Lilliput, on Lough Ennell, Co Westmeath.

PollutionClifden continues to be subject to episodic pollution by the local sewage treatment plant, but work is under way to upgrade the plant, and the EPA report said this would hopefully bring about an improvement in water quality over the coming years.

Lilliput experienced a lengthy period of contamination late in the season believed to have originated from a wastewater source while Dugort was impacted by a rare pumping station malfunction and Ballyloughane experienced two pollution incidents.

It had been anticipated that the number of waters rated good might have been slightly higher, but the presence of persistent but relatively low levels of bacterial pollution was observed in some waters in particular some of the popular east-coast bathing areas.

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Almost all Irish beaches given clean bill of health

121 tons of trash removed from Texas beaches Saturday

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A total of 7,334 volunteers hauled more than 121 tons of trash off Texas beaches Saturday for the 28th annual Texas General Land Office Adopt-A-Beach Spring Cleanup.

Thats more than 22,002 hours of labor all volunteer working to keep Texas public beaches clean. What an amazing effort, said Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. Thats nearly half a million dollars worth of work and a great example of how Adopt-A-Beach is one of the most successful volunteer efforts in the nation.

Saturdays cleanup wasnt just all work at most sites volunteers enjoyed a party afterward hosted by cleanup sponsors such as Schlumberger. And aside from the usual cigarette butts, beer cans and diapers, some pretty odd and interesting items were found, including a lost or discarded love letter on South Padre Island, a $100 bill found by a cub scout at Quintana Beach, a used pregnancy test kit on Cameron County beaches, false teeth in Galveston and a burned up purse and wallet at Boggy Creek Nature Park in Calhoun County.

Over the past 28 years, the Texas General Land Offices Adopt-A-Beach Program has brought more than 465,000 volunteers to the Texas coast. Those volunteers took more than 8,900 tons of trash with them. Adopt-A-Beach volunteers make Texas beaches cleaner for every living thing that depends on them, from local tourist bureaus to crabs, birds and turtles.

To learn how to join the next cleanup, visit http://www.TexasAdoptABeach.org or contact the GLO at 1-877-TX COAST. Those interested may also become a fan of the program at http://www.facebook.com/texasadoptabeach and follow us on Twitter @TXAdoptABeach.

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121 tons of trash removed from Texas beaches Saturday

Proposed sales tax could be used for Brunswick beaches

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Crews move large section of pipe as renourishment work continues at the East end of Ocean Isle Beach N.C. Monday March 3, 2014. Brunswick County is asking residents to raise the sales tax. If that happens, the money can be used for terminal groins, which is extremely controversial.

Brunswick County is going to need to raise money for beach projects somehow, says Debbie Smith, Ocean Isle Beach mayor.

If residents approve a proposed sales tax increase, using half of the resulting $3 million a year for the beaches is smart, she added.

"It's a very innovative approach," Smith said of county officials. "They understand the need to protect our beaches, so hats off to them."

The money would be earmarked based on a beach town's needs and for projects such as dredging, nourishment, channel widening and terminal groins. And although there is some argument about how to best use the money, most town boards in the county are on board with the tax increase.

County staffers have been making rounds to each municipality, explaining the need for the sales tax increase. Of the 19 municipalities, 11 passed resolutions in favor, according to county spokeswoman Amanda Hutcheson.

Oak Island Mayor Betty Wallace said that though her town council did not endorse the tax hike, she and many on her board favor it.

"We didn't (pass) anything on it because I personally didn't feel like our town council should be endorsing or making any statements against," she said. "But I will personally vote for it."

Leland also didn't pass a resolution, but Mayor Brenda Bozeman said she likes the county's approach to the tax hike.

Over the years, federal money for coastal projects has dwindled. The extra money from the sales tax will help provide a boost when it comes to protecting Brunswick County beaches, County Manager Ann Hardy said.

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Proposed sales tax could be used for Brunswick beaches

TTC PCC, Petter Witt, CLRV And New Flexity Outlook 4402 Depart the Beaches Easter Parade – Video

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TTC PCC, Petter Witt, CLRV And New Flexity Outlook 4402 Depart the Beaches Easter Parade
April 20, 2014: 91 years of streetcars in Toronto on display at the Beaches Easter Parade. PCC 4549 built in 1953 lead the Way follow by the Peter Witt car b...

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TTC PCC, Petter Witt, CLRV And New Flexity Outlook 4402 Depart the Beaches Easter Parade - Video

Beaches achieve bathing standard

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Beaches achieve bathing standard

10:00am Saturday 26th April 2014 in News By Danielle Morris

BEACHES across Somerset have all passed the bathing water standards this year according to the Marine Conservation Societys Good Beach Guide.

Eight out of 12 beaches tested across the county all received the top standard for excellent water quality.

The standards are:

Dunster South East, Minehead Terminus and Porlock Weir all received recommended while Blue Anchor West and Dunster North West received mandatory.

From the end of the 2015 bathing season, all designated bathing waters must meet the new minimum Sufficient standard due to the revised EU Bathing Water Directive.

The directive will be around twice as stringent as the current minimum standard and means some beaches will need to do more to make the grade in the future.

Beaches which dont meet the Sufficient standard at the end of 2015 will have to display signs warning against bathing in the sea from the start of the bathing season in 2016.

Rachel Wyatt, the coastal pollution officer for the Marine Conservation Society, said: We use the same standard as the EU but there are a few differences as we use extra beaches which dont have designated bathing waters and we have a few of our own tests we carry out.

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Beaches achieve bathing standard

More beachgoers take notice of surf safety message

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Capping off a safer season: Lifesavers on the second-last day of patrols at Freshwater Beach on Saturday. Photo: James Brickwood

Red and yellow flags are being pulled out of the sand at beaches across the state as volunteer surf lifesavers hang up their swimmers for the season.

The end of the extended Easter and Anzac Day holiday break marks the last day of surf patrols by all volunteer lifesavers, and some paid lifeguards, for the 2013-14 season, in which there has been a drop in the number of drownings.

Surf Life Saving NSW said the season had been busy, with 4644 rescues performed since June last year.

There have been 23 drownings since June, down from the previous season with 48 drownings across the state.

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Surf Life Saving NSW lifesaving manager Andy Kent said this year's numbers were ''very pleasing'', and partially attributed them to the relatively high number of days on which lifesavers closed beaches because of dangerous surf, as well as beachgoers taking heed of the safety messages.

''Hopefully it's because our messages are getting through and the public have been taking care of themselves, staying between the flags at patrolled beaches and being prepared before they venture off to the beach or on to rock platforms,'' he said.

Mr Kent said there had been three shark attacks in NSW.

''There's been a lot of media focus on shark attacks this year, but still the likelihood of attacks is very rare and more people drown from being in rips and on rock shelves or in boating incidents than they do being attacked by sharks,'' he said.

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More beachgoers take notice of surf safety message

Caribbean dream

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Beach at Cabo San Juan Guia. Photo: Andrew Bain

From its mountains to beaches, this corner of Colombia offers plenty, writes Andrew Bain.

Not all lost cities in the South American mountains are at Machu Picchu. High in the northern reaches of Colombia, in the coastal Sierra Nevada range, a pair of lost cities lies hidden in dark jungle. Around them, monkeys scamper through the canopy, hummingbirds hover beside flowers, and poison frogs hop about the undergrowth. It's one of the most evocative mountain wildernesses in South America.

The Sierra Nevada is the world's highest coastal mountain range, rising to more than 5700 metres above sea level. A great portion of it is protected by Tayrona National Park, considered by many to be Colombia's finest national park.

Kogi village. Photo: Andrew Bain

People come mostly for its beaches - locals proudly and regularly tell you that these Caribbean beaches were once rated the second most beautiful in the world - but it's in the mountains behind the beaches that the haunting remains of two lost cities, Ciudad Perdida and Pueblito, furnish the jungle.

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Hardy travellers come to trek to Ciudad Perdida, an ancient city rediscovered by a treasure hunter in 1875. The trek is a journey of around five days on foot, wading across the Buritaca River seven times and sleeping and eating in basic conditions in indigenous villages.

Pueblito yields more easily and can be reached on a day hike that also takes in a number of the beaches. From Santa Marta, which is claimed as South America's oldest city, it's a short drive to the roadside village of Cabalazo, where I begin walking. Jungle teems down the mountain slopes, and inside this snarl of growth it feels almost as though you could lose a city in a week.

Hiking through Tayrona National Park. Photo: Andrew Bain

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Caribbean dream

Time again to Ride the Beaches

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Bicyclists cruise in Venice during during Ride the Beaches in 2011. (Herald-Tribune archive / 2011 / Dan Wagner)

Janice Hajek, a Clearwater cyclist, travels to Venice each April for Ride the Beaches.

She brings friends. She stays for the weekend. Its her favorite bike event in Florida.

The location, at Sharkys and at the beach, is fantastic, she says. And the route is fabulous, south of Venice and Manasota Key. And the food is good and you can sit and look around and look at the beach.

Hajek, 65, is looking forward to snacks during the ride, too. Marc Alton, the chef who founded the event, makes Sharky Bars out of Rice Krispies, chocolate, raisins and nuts. Theres nothing Hajek doesnt love about Ride the Beaches. Well, almost nothing.

The love bugs oh, god, I hope theyre not out this year, she says, laughing. We hated it that one time, but it was funny.

Riding SAG

David Reynolds, who owns Real Bicycles in Venice, says his bike shop always participates in Ride the Beaches.

Every employee will be going thats how it works around here, he says. Last year, we rode trikes adult tricycles and carried water and tubes. We ride SAG Support And Gear.

Volunteers with Ride the Beaches have already painted red, white and blue shark symbols at intersections throughout Venice. These colorful markers point cyclists toward 15-, 35- and 70-mile bike routes around town.

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Time again to Ride the Beaches

The One-Hit Parade n3 (Butterclock, Brace/Choir, Dirty Beaches, Easter, KYNN, Physical Therapy) – Video

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The One-Hit Parade n3 (Butterclock, Brace/Choir, Dirty Beaches, Easter, KYNN, Physical Therapy)
The third and final episode of The One-Hit Parade (#TOHP) is here. Enjoy this recording with performances by Dirty Beaches, KYNN, Easter, Brace/Choir, James K feat. Physical Therapy, and Buttercloc...

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The One-Hit Parade n3 (Butterclock, Brace/Choir, Dirty Beaches, Easter, KYNN, Physical Therapy) - Video


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