Image: Burleigh’s Rico Haybittle at Kirra Tues 4th March during TC Alfred by Josh Bystrom
Surfing Legend Rabbit Bartholomew welcomes Global leaders in Ocean Conservation to next year’s World Surfing Conservation Conference February 2026 at Gold Coast.
Interview by MacKenzie Collahan ABC Gold Coast.
The world’s leading surfers, conservationists, and coastal protection researchers are coming to the Gold Coast next year for what will be the first World Surfing Conservation Conference.
Our city is seen as the gold standard for protecting beaches, but developments, overcrowding, and climate change could all threaten our famous waves. Former world champion and patron of the Gold World Surfing Reserve, Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, spoke to ABC reporter Mackenzie Collahan about the conference.
“This one’s really important because, first of all, the Gold Coast is a recognised global surfing hub. With our Surf Management Plan, we are the only city in the world, we believe, that has one of those. We have got so many things happening here. We’ve been through everything—the world surfers, sustainability, protection, appropriate development—that we’re a bit of a model.
I think a lot of people are going to come here, and for us, this cross-pollination of ideas from around the world with experts in many, many fields will be incredible. I also think they will take a lot away from it.”
What do you think are the biggest threats to surf breaks around the world?
“Look, in the past, surf breaks haven’t really been valued. The old ancient laws used to consider anything beyond the high tide mark as kind of nothing. But now, they are recognised as an integral part of local communities. There are hundreds of thousands of surfers just here in Queensland alone.
So, as a recreational amenity—this ‘surf amenity’ idea—there is value in that. But when marinas, ports, and man-made structures destroy surf breaks around the world, it has a massive negative effect on local populations.”
There was another ABC reporter—an interstate reporter—who recently did a story on the impact of climate change, particularly rising sea levels. They mentioned that in the next 50 years, there might be an extra foot of water at low tide on some of the outpoints along the east coast. That would have a big impact as well, wouldn’t it?
“It’s a massive impact that no one talks about. Just one foot of sea level rise would pretty much wipe out most surf breaks. It’s not just the foot; the erosion that would come with it is also significant. We are totally dependent on sand—sand plus surf equals total success here on the Gold Coast.
A lot of people dismiss it, saying, ‘Oh, the oceans have been the same for the last 50 years.’ But we’re seeing signs—whether in Antarctica, Greenland, or the Arctic—of significant ice melting. And I’m really concerned about it.
Look at breaks like Pipeline in Hawaii—just a one-foot rise there would have a massive impact. It would pretty much destroy the break.”
You mentioned that the Gold Coast is the only city in the world to have a Surf Management Plan. Do you think this conference will be more for others to learn from us, or do we still have room to grow?
“Oh, we’re definitely going to grow. You bring in these amazing people from all around the world—climate scientists, marine biologists, coastal engineers—people from all walks of life who have worked in surf-related conservation.
I think they’ll come here and see that we’ve done a massive amount of work in protection. We have a Surf Management Plan; we’ve got pretty much the only sand bypass project I know of. There are many things here that people will take back to their communities and countries, saying, ‘Hey, these guys are doing a pretty good job.'”
Coastal Erosion & Government Response
As mentioned, Rabbit is not the only one talking about the threats and risks of coastal erosion. Environment & Tourism, Science & Innovation Qld State Minister Andrew Powell was at Broadbeach to announce a new round of funding for the QCoast Program prior to TC Alfred.
The program provides grants to coastal councils for projects that protect communities from coastal erosion, storm tides, and rising sea levels. Since 2016, it has funded approximately $22 million worth of resilience projects, including rehabilitating sand dunes, building seawalls, and reinforcing river embankments. This could not be more relevant in the aftermath of the massive beach erosion from TC Alfred along Gold Coast beaches.
Here is what the QLD State Gov minister of Environment & Tourism Andrew Powell had to say.
“As you’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, our coast takes a battering—it really does. The Premier has been very clear about the need to build resilience into our hard infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and treatment plants.
But we also need to build resilience into our coastlines. This $6 million in funding is vital to ensure that communities and councils along the Queensland coast can access money to be proactive and get ahead of coastal erosion.
This funding will benefit everyone—from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, and all the communities in between. We are very grateful to the LGAQ for partnering with us. Councils will soon be able to apply, and we’ll get cracking on getting these projects underway.”
The 2026 World Surfing Conservation Conference will be held at Gold Coast Campus Southern Cross University from Monday 23rd to Thursday 26th February 2026. Apart from Ocean Conservation and Coastal Planning issues, other impacts will include stormwater drains & water quality, shark mitigation and latest deterrents, melanoma for surfers, para surfing, surfing mums, gender diversity, surfing til 100. For more information wscc2026.com.au
The 2026 World Surfing Conservation Conference is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland’s Business Events Program (TEQ) & Experience Gold Coast. Other supporters include Southern Cross University, EMRO, Brazilian Style Imports, Matanivusi Resort, Fiji, Villa Santai, Rote, & Surfmud sunscreen.
