Photo: Aloha Surf Journal
After a difficult year on the ASP tour, we met Laura in France and discussed with her environmental issues that effect oceans and threaten the future of surfing. Discover our intimate meeting with the young Australian surfer, full of joy and optimism.
Do you think in surfing, more than in any other sport, there is a special relationship between surfers and the environment?
There’s definitely a really strong relationship between surfers and the environment. I mean, we all surf because at the start we all felt in love with the ocean and riding waves. Surfing is a passion for most of us and this passion for the sport goes together with our love for Mother Ocean. No matter if you surf to compete or if you surf for fun, we all are in the ocean and we all love it. There’s a huge love for oceans and I think that this is what best defines surfers.
Do you have a bad memory while surfing because of pollution?
I have a lot of bad memories experiencing marine pollution while surfing, especially in third-world countries where the waters are often more polluted than in developed countries. There’s rubbish everywhere and beaches are really polluted. It is really sad to say that because the water is meant to be blue and in some places that you go, it’s brown. It’s not meant to be like that and we’ve done that! I just hope that in the future we’ll all be able to come up with solutions to help restore the oceans so we can all surf and our grand grand grandkids can also surf clean waves too.
Do you see a positive or negative change regarding the ocean’s protection?
I am under the impression that there is a positive change in terms of environment and the ocean’s protection. I think today everyone is aware of the risks of polluting oceans and the environment. Everyone talks about ecology. It’s maybe just a trend, but that’s a sign of an evolution taking place right now in people’s mentality. I think there are also definitely more and more people out there trying to make a difference and that’s amazing!
