Surfing is “like this cool economy”, Manly Surf School’s Matt Grainger says

Surfing was first introduced to Australia more than a century ago.
Since then the sport has blossomed into a cultural phenomenon and a commercial juggernaut.
Research from the Australian National University (ANU) estimates surfing injects at least A$3bn ($2bn; £1.5bn) into the national economy each year.
The study, however, comes with a stark warning that surf breaks – areas where the waves start to collapse or plunge – should not be taken for granted and need more legal protection.
“Unfortunately because of climate change, coastal erosion and competition for coastal spaces, the elements that make these high quality waves possible are on many occasions in danger,” explained Dr Ana Manero, an expert in water economics and governance at the ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy.
“I don’t think the lack of protection right now is deliberate. It is just surf breaks currently they just fall in a blind spot for policy makers.”
Global warming and poor water quality are surfers’ main concerns, according to the report published in the journal, Marine Policy.
About a dozen surf breaks in the state of New South Wales and Bells Beach in Victoria have formal protection but researchers want much more.
“What I am more worried about is those waves that may not feature on a world-class map but they do provide value for people like you and I,” Dr Manero told the BBC from her office in Perth, Western Australia.
“Those waves that do not attract global attention… are the waves we need to focus our attention on.”
A previous ANU study found waves off the town of Mundaka in northern Spain vanished because of changes to a sand bar after dredging in a nearby river.
Research also found that expansion to a marina in Perth caused the disappearance of three surf breaks in 2022 and an artificial reef has now been proposed.