Night surfing trial gets green light despite concerns about sharks

The Gold Coast's bid to host a night surfing event next year is a step closer after the council backed the proposal, despite concerns about the risk of shark encounters after dark.

The proposed trial — set to take place during the 2027 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour at Snapper Rocks — would not be open to the public.

Instead, night surfing would be restricted to elite competitors taking part in a speciality event in May.

The concept involves installing temporary floodlighting to allow the competition to continue after sunset, as the council explores whether night surfing can become a permanent fixture to ease congestion at some of the Gold Coast's busiest surf breaks.

However, the proposal faced opposition at Tuesday's council meeting, with councillor Donna Gates raising concerns about who would be held liable if a surfer was attacked by a shark during the event.

"I have been concerned about this because of the dawn and the dusk issue, with potential shark bites or attacks," Cr Gates said.

Infrastructure Gold Coast director Michael Kahler clarified that the council was not approving the event or the installation of lighting at this stage but simply endorsing the "concept" of a night surfing trial as part of the WSL competition.

"I would recommend that would be when we would look at any legal liability issues rather than at this very early stage, which is really just a concept."

The motion was ultimately carried, with Cr Gates the only councillor to vote against it.

Night surfing is not entirely new to the Gold Coast, with a similar event previously held at Burleigh Heads.

Specialty night surfing competitions are also staged overseas, including the annual Surf de Nuit Anglet event in France.

The use of artificial lighting to facilitate surfing after sunset is one of a range of measures council is exploring to try to make surfing more accessible to the city's growing population.

A report to the council last year found the number of surf-craft riders on the Gold Coast had nearly tripled in the decade since 2015, increasing from 1.1 million to 3.2 million.

"Recreational surfer numbers continue to rise each year, while the resource people rely on — our beaches and waves — remains finite," the documents state.

"This increase in participation of recreational surfers has led to overcrowding of our surf breaks and instances of user conflict on our beaches."

The proposed trial is still subject to formal approval, with the WSL yet to receive a permit from the council to stage the event at Snapper Rocks.

While the council has backed the concept, concerns remain about the potential environmental and safety risks of introducing artificial lighting to surf breaks after dark.

Bond University associate professor of environmental science Daryl McPhee said he was surprised the council was pushing forward with the proposal, warning that artificial lighting could attract marine life and potentially increase the risk of shark encounters.

"The lights will attract various fish species and squid and seabirds, and all those are prey of tiger sharks. So, it's not without its risks."

Mr McPhee acknowledged the Gold Coast's reputation as a world-class surfing destination but questioned whether the potential risks to competitors were justified.

"It's always good when something's trialled, but you don't want to see a trial actually putting somebody at risk," he said.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said he personally would not surf at night but believed the "unique" event could deliver significant benefits to the city, given surfing's contribution to the local economy.

"From talking to some surfers, they would love to go out there and have a crack at night-time and have a night-time competition."

The WSL has also thrown its support behind the proposal, with president Andrew Stark outlining the organisation's backing in a letter to the council in August.

"We believe the initiative represents an opportunity to strengthen the Gold Coast's position as a world-class surfing destination and to demonstrate innovation in the presentation of professional surfing," Mr Stark said.