Surfing Resources

Waves for surfing are important resources for surfers and for coastal communities. Surf breaks are valuable AND vulnerable. How can we manage them better?

Co-occurrence of surf breaks and carbon-dense ecosystems suggests novel conservation opportunities.

• Bukoski J, Miller M, Sancho-Gallegos D, Arroyo M, Kittinger J, Keonig K, Reineman DR, and Atkinson S. 2024. Conservation Science & Practice e13193: 1-12. (view article)

• Abstract. Surf breaks are increasingly recognized as socio-environmental phenomena that provide opportunities for biodiversity conservation and sustained benefits for local communities. Here, we examine an additional benefit from improved conservation of the ecosystems that host and surround surf breaks—their coincidence with carbon dense coastal ecosystems. Using global spatial datasets of irrecoverable carbon (defined as carbon stocks that, if lost today, could not be recovered within 30 years' time), surf break locations, ecosystem types, protected areas, and Key Biodiversity Areas, we identified 88.3 million tonnes of irrecoverable carbon held in surf ecosystems. Of this total, 17.2 million tonnes are found in Key Biodiversity Areas without formal measures of protection. These results highlight surf conservation as a potential avenue to simultaneously mitigate climate change, protect biodiversity, and promote sustainable development in coastal communities.

Planning protected area networks for surfing resources. 

• Reineman DR, Blum M, Reiblich J, Sancho-Gallegos D. 2024. Shore & Beach 92(3): 20-30. (view article)

• Abstract. Surf breaks are vital cultural resources on coastlines worldwide, but are vulnerable to myriad threats, including climate change and coastal development; as such, efforts to protect them have proliferated. Hitherto, spatial protections (e.g., marine protected areas; MPAs) have been pursued for surf breaks as single, individual reserves. This situation is comparable to the early days of biodiversity MPAs, which eventually progressed to networked reserve design, initially culminating in California’s 124 networked MPAs. Here, we apply the analogy of networked biodiversity reserve design to networked reserves for surf break protection. We examine the proposition that the effectiveness of surfing resource conservation can be improved by a “networked” approach. We conclude that specific characteristics of surf breaks, including their size, type, carrying capacity, quality, value, accessibility, spacing, vulnerability, and cultural and historic significance could all be considered and balanced to yield more effective, equitable conservation outcomes.

Conservation Opportunities Arise from the Co-Occurrence of Surfing and Key Biodiversity Areas.

• Reineman DR, Koenig K, Strong-Cvetich N, Kittinger JN. 2021. Frontiers in Marine Science 8 (Article 663460): 7p. (view article)

• Abstract. Conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services requires diverse models that empower communities to steward and benefit from resources. Here we investigate the potential of surfing resources, a new conservation asset class, and the surfing community, an underutilized conservation constituency, to conserve marine biodiversity. We conducted a spatial analysis of the overlap among Key Biodiversity Areas, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and 3,755 surf breaks globally. We find that 62.77% of surf breaks are not within MPAs and that 25.81% of all surf breaks are within 5 km of a Key Biodiversity Area, but are not within a MPA, suggesting that strategic conservation opportunities arise from the co-occurrence of surfing resources and biodiversity priorities. Establishing or extending protections to surfing ecosystems could increase protection for biodiversity at one-quarter of surf breaks. Sustainable management of these resources ensures their ability to provide for the character, economy, and development of coastal communities worldwide.

Applicability of Management Guidelines for Surfing Resources in California.

• Atkin EA, Reineman DR, Reiblich J, Revell DL. 2020. Shore & Beach 88(3): 53-64. (view article)

• Abstract. Surf breaks are finite, valuable, and vulnerable natural resources, that not only influence community and cultural identities, but are a source of revenue and provide a range of health benefits. Despite these values, surf breaks largely lack recognition as coastal resources and therefore the associated management measures required to maintain them. Some countries, especially those endowed with high-quality surf breaks and where the sport of surfing is accepted as mainstream, have recognized the value of surfing resources and have specific policies for their conservation. In Aotearoa New Zealand surf breaks are included within national environmental policy. Aotearoa New Zealand has recently produced Management Guidelines for Surfing Resources (MGSR), which were developed in conjunction with universities, regional authorities, not-for-profit entities, and government agencies. The MGSR provide recommendations for both consenting authorities and those wishing to undertake activities in the coastal marine area, as well as tools and techniques to aid in the management of surfing resources. While the MGSR are firmly aligned with Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultural and legal frameworks, much of their content is applicable to surf breaks worldwide. In the United States, there are several national-level and state-level statutes that are generally relevant to various aspects of surfing resources, but there is no law or policy that directly addresses them. This paper describes the MGSR, considers California’s existing governance frameworks, and examines the potential benefits of adapting and expanding the MGSR in this state.

Rhino Chasers and Rifles: Surfing Under the Public Trust Doctrine.

• Reiblich J & Reineman DR. 2018.  Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law 34(1): 35-92. (view article)

• Abstract. Coastal development and erosion, rising seas and climate change, and alterations to watersheds threaten to decimate beach access the public has enjoyed for generations. Surfers and other recreational beachgoers have embraced the public trust doctrine as a legal theory that protects their continued access to beaches and submerged lands, even as beaches disappear. The doctrine has long been championed as the silver bullet for protecting natural resources in the face of environmental threats and development. While the doctrine imposes certain responsibilities and limitations on trustees of trust lands, and it protects certain public trust doctrine uses, it is not clear that surfing qualifies as a protected use. This uncertainty stems from the fact that there are at least fifty public trust doctrines in the United States, which developed independently based on the needs of each jurisdiction. These modern doctrines protect traditional uses, such as navigation and fishing, but also sometimes include recreation and other expanded uses under the doctrine. This article investigates whether surfing is currently a protected use under these public trust doctrines. It first explains surfing's importance and value to the coastal United States, both economically and culturally. Next, it explains what the public trust doctrine is and traces its path from ancient Roman doctrine to modern environmental law cornerstone. Finally, it analyzes the coastal public trust doctrines and whether surfing fits within the scope of these jurisdictions' doctrines. This article looks both at whether states currently recognize surfing and whether they might under the bounds of their existing doctrines under case law.

Sustainable tourism and the management of nearshore coastal places: place attachment and disruption to surf-spots.

• Reineman DR & Ardoin NM. 2018. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 26: 325-340. (view article)

• Abstract. Surfing, a dominant recreational activity in many coastal areas, is a primary driver of local and international tourism. Surf-spots, nearshore oceanic locations where waves break and surfing occurs, are essential community resources. Yet, many surf-spots are at risk of degradation from climate change and other factors. Knowing whether and why surfers consider surf-spots as meaningful places can inform sustainable management of these resources, benefitting the environment and users alike. This study examines place attachment and disruption in relation to surf-spots through an online survey of 1055 surfers in California, where surfing is an important recreational and touristic industry. Our findings suggest that surfers exhibit high fidelity to specific surf-spots and develop deep attachments to those spots, with the strength of the attachment varying depending on the type of surf-spot. Some respondents consider surf-spots to be “part of their family”; few respondents describe no attachments. We conclude that, despite being dynamic oceanic locations, surf-spots are meaningful places for surfers. This importance, combined with the value of surf-spots as resources driving coastal tourism and recreation, warrants systematic consideration of surf-spots as natural resources by managers, and suggests that user–place attachment should be better understood at surf-spots and other tourism sites.

Using local knowledge to project the impacts of sea level rise on wave resources in California.

• Reineman DR, Thomas L, & Caldwell MR. 2017. Ocean and Coastal Management 138: 181-191. (view article)

• Abstract. Sea level rise will have significant impacts on many coastal resources. Waves are an important resource in California, where they support the recreation of 1.1 million surfers who inject millions of dollars into local economies. The impacts of sea level rise on wave resource quality, however, are unknown. By examining the local knowledge of more than one thousand California surfers collected through an online survey, this study extrapolates their evaluations to estimate the susceptibility of California surf-spots to sea level rise based on the principle of tidal extrapolation. Vulnerability classifications are derived from the relationship between wave quality, tide effects, and sea floor conditions. Applying these classifications to 105 surf-spots in California evaluated by multiple respondents, we project that as a result of sea level rise by 2100: 16% of surf-spots are Endangered due to drowning; 18% are Threatened, but could adapt if natural shoreline processes are not impeded; and 5% might improve as rising sea levels increase the likelihood they will experience optimal conditions. These projections are significant not only for the many surfers who depend on surf-spots, but also for the coastal communities who rely on the availability of high quality wave resources. Results from this study also have important implications for when and how managers might take surf-spot quality and vulnerability into consideration through coastal adaptation. Lastly, this study establishes a baseline of wave resource quality in California and suggests that this baseline will shift as wave quality changes over the coming century.

The utility of surfers' wave knowledge for coastal management. 

• Reineman DR. 2016. Marine Policy 67: 139-147. (view article)

• Abstract. In the face of environmental change, managing coastal resources effectively to benefit coastal stakeholders means understanding both complex coastal processes and the needs of stakeholders. Surfers are a culturally and economically significant group of coastal resource users who, in the act of participating in their sport, can acquire deep knowledge about the coastal environment and about wave resources in particular. As the primary users of wave resources, surfers could contribute substantially to both understanding the resources themselves and supplying locally-relevant data to inform their management. This study investigates the local knowledge of surfers through two surveys of more than one thousand California surfers and promulgates, based on survey data, a formal definition of surfers’ local knowledge as "wave knowledge." In so doing, this study makes the case that wave knowledge can be used to inform coastal management decision-making in those situations where wave resources, and thus the growing stakeholder group of surfers, could possibly be affected.

The human dimensions of wave resource management. 

• Reineman DR. 2015. Stanford University Dissertation. (information and background)

Peopled Seascapes

Coasts are complex, coupled social-ecological systems; managing their diverse resources, users, and inhabitants (human and otherwise) is a challenge. Understanding the relationships between people and coastal ecosystems, including governance approaches, is an interdisciplinary challenge. As part of a collaboration with colleagues in academia and at an international, coastal conservation NGO, the Save The Waves Coalition, we drew on common pool resource theory to evaluate the effectiveness of six countries' strategies for coastal governance through the World Surfing Reserve System.

• I presented our initial results at the International Marine Conservation Congress in St. John's, Newfoundland in July 2016: Reineman & Strong-Cvetich "The World Surfing Reserve system: Comparative analysis of an integrated approach to common-pool marine resource governance."

My wider interests include the human-dimensions of oceans and coasts and how they are and are not incorporated into resource management. See:

• Koehn, Reineman, & Kittinger. 2013. Progress and promise in spatial human dimensions research for ecosystem-based ocean planning. Marine Policy 42: 31-38. (view article)

• Kittinger et al. 2014. A practical approach for putting people in ecosystem-based ocean planning. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 12: 448-456. (view article)