Photo: Pixabay
Peru is the first country to legally protect its surfing beaches from development and fishing that could damage the sea floor features that create both good waves for surfers and good habitats for marine life. Evidence internationally shows that surfing can benefit both coastal ecosystems and community economies. Despite its "laid back" image, surfing is a huge, lucrative international industry. In California, Mavericks is worth $24 million annually in tourist revenue; in 2019, Peru's Lobitos earned $3.6 million; and in the UK, surfing could be worth as much as $7 billion overall. While "surfonomics" started as a way to prove surfing's economic value, surfers also are leveraging their sport's power to protect coasts in a way that benefits everyone who enjoys, and relies on, the sea.
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