There are concerns about Swellnet’s Surf Cam at Winki Pop and this community petition seeks its removal. The Bells Beach Surfing Recreational Reserve is an international icon of Australian surfing culture and we oppose unregulated surveillance and corporate exploitation of the reserve where there is no net benefit to the reserve or the community.

The Surf Cam commenced filming and live broadcast around April 2022 and is operated by Swellnet which is an online surf forecasting company. The Surf Cam provides live stream footage and recordings of the Winki Pop surf break and the Bells Beach surf break at low tide and during bigger swells. The live Surf Cam footage and recordings are accessible to users that pay a subscription to Swellnet.  

Winki Pop is a world class surf break in the Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve, the world’s first Surfing Reserve located four kilometres from Torquay in Victoria. 

Some of the concerns about the Surf Cam include:

• The Surf Cam, located on private property, started operation without any consultation within the community;
• The surf cam is not needed and has not been requested by anyone;
• Commercial filming of public activity for private gain, with no benefit to the wider community;
• Privacy intrusions. People don’t know that they are being filmed while they are surfing, and their images are globally live-streamed and recorded on the internet;
• Overcrowding in the surf from people watching the break on phones or computer to see when it's best. The Surf Cam may contribute to overcrowding which can create unsafe conditions and a diminished surfing experience; 
• The erosion of surfing's cultural norms and the change imposed on surfing by commercial interests represents a threat to surfing’s core values;
• Unregulated commercial activity using imagery of Crown land, resulting in negative impacts of more frequent crowds whilst making no broader contribution to the management of the Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve; 
• The Surf Cam fails regulatory tests and exploits legal loopholes that would apply if the Surf Cam were to be located just a few metres away in the coastal reserve;
• Commercial filming is strictly prohibited at Bells Beach except in rare circumstances. The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) require commercial photographers filming and taking photos on land they manage to pay for a permit, yet an interstate private company is live streaming and recording footage of Winki Pop and Bells (and surfers) for commercial gain without a permit or consent;
• The Surf Cam does not align with the vision to respect and protect Bells Beach and is at odds with the community’s position to leave Bells alone.

Further information and description of the issues associated with this Surf Cam are detailed in this discussion paper. The paper describes the legal and regulatory issues relating to the Surf Cam and provides recommendations for removal of the camera and other future directions. 

There is a well-documented history of local communities and surfers engaging in successful resistance to protect surf environments and have their voices heard in relation to coastal management. Please sign this petition and have your voice heard to help us prevent the corporate exploitation of the Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve and to request Swellnet to discontinue and remove the Winki Pop Surf Cam.

Thank you.

For further contact or media comment please feel free to contact Dr Monique Mann at mann.monique@protonmail.com