How many people swim at your local beach? Do you? How many people do you know who love to swim in the ocean, but lack the confidence? (The 1975 Hollywood blockbuster Jaws has a lot to answer for!)
Apart from the obvious safety and peace of mind factors a shark barrier can bring, have you ever considered it as an economic driver, a tourism activator, for your LGA?
The installation of barriers, also known as safe swimming enclosures, has been pivotal in encouraging residents and visitors to swim and ‘linger longer’ at safe beaches and river foreshores right along the southwest coast of WA, from Fremantle to Esperance.
Every one of the LGAs that have installed a swimming enclosure has reported an increase in visitation and visitor satisfaction. In fact, the incredibly popular waterfront destination of Busselton reports a 200-300% increase in the number of people in the enclosure during peak times. First installed next to the iconic Busselton jetty in 2015 (a whole ten years ago) the enclosure has since become an integral part of the foreshore redevelopment, alongside the cafes, brewery, hotel, the new aquarium and, of course, the jetty itself.
Whether you’re a major coastal tourist hotspot like Busselton, an urban destination like Fremantle, or you have a smaller resident-driven coastal population, there are clear and obvious benefits to including a safe swimming enclosure as part of your infrastructure. Locations like Busselton, Coogee and Esperance have all seen the benefits of increased visitor numbers as a result of their barriers being installed; they have created a focal zone, attracting people and other businesses like cafes and aquatic inflatables.
The team at Safer Swimming Australia (including our earlier iteration as Crackpots Marine Supplies) has been involved in designing, manufacturing and installing swimming enclosures around Australia for over ten years. From our own experience and research, there are several common drivers that prompted an LGA and resulted in successful installations:
● community demand or concern
● evidence or history of shark presence and predation
● an existing desirability as a swimming location (water clarity, aesthetics, location)
● enthusiastic local and/or visiting population
● sufficient space to allow for increased swimmer visitation
● existing associated infrastructure (toilets, changing rooms)
● capability to create extra parking, universal access, and public transport
● Potential to attract other development or infrastructure – swimming pontoon, playground, cafes or other commercial businesses
Let’s take a quick look at how safe swimming enclosures have activated LGAs in WA.
Busselton
The swimming enclosure at Busselton is a perfect example of creating a local, regional, statewide and national tourism asset and destination zone. The safe swimming enclosure has become ‘part of the furniture’, with throngs of locals and visitors utilising it to swim laps, let the kids play safely – especially when filled with inflatables as an extra activation during summer holiday periods – and generally enjoying the confidence of the calm, clear waters and wide enclosure.
Dunsborough (City of Busselton)
The calm shallow waters of Old Dunsborough Beach have made it a favourite for locals and visitors for decades. Originally installed by Safer Swimming Australia team over ten years ago, the enclosure was updated at the start of summer 2024. It extends 100m from the shore and runs for approximately 300m. Although within the same LGA, there is an interesting contrast between the Busselton and Dunsborough installations, with less commercial opportunities at Old Dunsborough Beach. It is still an incredibly popular tourist destination, though, and has a fast-growing residential population. A review of the Dunsborough Beach Enclosure trial completed for the Department of the Premier and Cabinet in September 2014 deemed it a success, both financially for the City, and in attracting locals, visitors and holiday makers who appreciated the opportunity to swim in a safe environment.
Coogee Beach (City of Cockburn)
The City of Cockburn installed Australia’s first swimming enclosure at Coogee Beach in 2013. It provides a safe swimming environment year-round and has become a popular and safe swimming destination for people from all around Perth, attracting schools and other swimming groups. In the summer months, one of the City’s three pontoons can be found within the enclosure.
Esperance (Shire of Esperance)
Despite having some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, many people never felt entirely safe swimming in the ocean off the southern coast. In 2021, the Shire of Esperance installed a shark-proof barrier surrounding a floating pontoon at the town beach. According to locals and visitors, it has been a game-changer. Alongside a safe swimming enclosure that is over 300m long, lane ropes are set up to allow people to swim laps.
While it is acknowledged that the majority of shark interactions happen further out, involving surfers and divers, the shire believed it was money well spent. Regardless of the safety aspect, he believes the new facility will be a drawcard for tourists, especially alongside other recent additions to the Esperance town centre, such as the new jetty, the caravan park upgrade and an e-scooter hire company starting operations.
The installation of barriers to create safe swimming enclosures has been pivotal in encouraging people to visit each of these locations. Along with the clear economic and tourism benefits, the installation of a safe swimming enclosure meets a whole raft of other local government strategic drivers, including environmental responsibility, character and culture, placemaking and creating places for people, community safety and amenity, health and wellbeing, and infrastructure improvement.
For LGAs with a coastline or river beach, it makes sense to leverage their sensational natural assets. It also makes sense to leverage the potential funding available from the Cook government’s Shark Mitigation Strategy, which was given a $17.3m boost in the 2024-25 stage budget.
Safer Swimming Australia is dedicated to providing coastal councils and shires with the confidence they need to create affordable, safe, more attractive places for their communities. All of our details are on our website and we’re happy to talk!