I first visited King Island in Australia’s Bass Strait back in 1991 after being invited by a resident who I had met in my travels. I’ve visited the place 16 times more since then and grown to love King Island over the years. I love the easy-going country lifestyle there and how friendly folks are.
Everyone has their happy place and for me, my happiest of happy places has long been Martha Lavinia on King Island. I’ve traveled far and wide in a magazine career that has spanned 30 years or more, and in all those years Martha has stood the test of time to remain my favorite place in the world for many, many years. It’s such a remarkable place. One of the most beautiful beaches that I have seen. The surf here is extraordinary too. Although the surfing part of the beach faces north-northeast, the swell actually comes from behind – from the south. The swell rolls up both sides of the island, (although predominantly from the east side) and wraps back in, to meet up at Martha Lavinia. Because the swell often comes from both sides of the island, it creates truly remarkable waves, particularly suited to surfing. A national poll conducted by one of Australia’s biggest surf magazines, found among surfers Martha Lavinia was ranked one of the top ten beach breaks in Australia.
When people hear of the threat of progress, one usually thinks of buildings being built where you just don’t want to see them, but currently, there exists a proposal for a Salmon farm right next door to Martha. This is appalling. The cages that hold these fish are huge and it’s a concern that the cages will hamper or drastically change the movement of the sands up the east side of Martha Lavinia Reserve, the same sands that feed the beach on the top and also create the extraordinary waves that bring surfers from all over the world.
Second, the swell itself will be hampered by the presence of these cages and it might result in the loss of a wave, particularly at Martha Lavinia Point, especially known for its unusually good surfing waves. It’s the only place I’ve seen where you can stand on the beach and wait for a wave. when you see it coming just jump in and paddle for that wave and the waves grow in size as they roll down the beach.
Third, a lot of fish in these pens means A LOT of waste. That poo is going to end up covering the marine floor and quite likely to wash down into the pristine white sands of the surfing beach, also devoiding any ocean floor of life, wherever it settles.
Fourth, and of huge concern to surfers, is the likely increased numbers of predators in the area, and those predators will be pissed off and hungry because they can’t get at this huge food source. Do we really think this is a good idea to have this right next door to recreational swimmers and surfers at a place that is already supposed to be protected as a reserve?
I’ve always kept talk about Martha to a minimum over the years because I’ve always believed people can find places for themselves if they try hard enough, but in this case, the potential for destruction of Martha is so very real, that the best thing we can do is open her up to more surfers and beachgoers, in order to save her.
Over the years, I befriended a beloved local on the island known to most as “Wire.” We became best mates over the years and Wire passed away a few years ago. I am just as much his voice as I am my own. I know Wire would be super bummed about this proposal. What it really comes down to is what do the people of King Island think about it? Martha is one of the most beloved beaches on the entire island. I can’t image too many folks there supporting this proposal.
Derek Hynd recently characterized the issue this way:
“A tragedy on one of the planet’s best beach breaks – probably one of the world’s top five, is unfolding on King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania. The license for a huge fish farm set in the waters just meters from the bend that begins the beach called Martha Lavinia is close to being granted. Whether by physical pollution, overbearing smell, disturbance to the prevailing current and sand flow that sweeps into Martha’s or far worse, the attraction of Great Whites, the situation is totally unacceptable. Already rejected in other areas due to such controversial practice, this scenario cannot be allowed to unfold.
I’m donating my time from my home in Hawaii to working on saving Martha along with Charlie Subbs on King Island. For more info, you can email Charlie at Charlie.ali@hotmail.com.
