The Surf Conservation Partnership

Protecting world-class waves and vital marine ecosystems

For surfers riding waves from Bali to Baja, the health of the ocean is deteriorating right beneath their boards thanks to unchecked coastal development, overfishing and climate change.

Surfing brings in $50-billion-a-year and is enjoyed by more than 34 million people across the globe, people who are passionate about keeping the ocean — and their favorite surf spots — healthy.

Conservation International, Save The Waves Coalition and IoES joined forces to create the Surf Conservation Partnership to mobilize surfing communities on a global scale and protect areas where outstanding surfing waves and the most biologically diverse marine ecosystems overlap. The goal: sustainably manage millions of acres of coral reefs and other critical marine habitats in areas that otherwise would not be conserved.

Based in one of the world’s epicenters of surfing in Southern California, IoES is lending its academic expertise to profile locations where surfing and conservation priorities overlap. IoES is also conducting research to better understand the economic and social importance of surfing to local communities.