Mission Statement: The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization whose goal is to enhance, save and protect the oceans, waves and coastlines through research, education, information and local action.
120 Avenue de Verdun 64200 Biarritz France
Phone: +05.59.23.54.99
Fax: +05.59.41.11.04
E-mail: surfrider@archimedia.fr
Web site: www.surfrider-europe.org
Formed: 1990
Membership Cost: 100 FF (approx. $28USD) includes magazine Initiative Surf
Chapters: 6 (including Reunion Island)
Executive Director: Pierre Nouqueret
From the Beach: membership, 30%; merchandise, 30%; institutions, 40%
To the Beach: events/programs, 75%; administration, 25%
Roots | Past Victories | Present Battles
Roots
In September 1990, ex-pats Tom Curren and Aussie surfer/shaper Maurice Cole decided to bring the idea of the Surfrider Foundation to their new home in SW France because the water quality was fairly disgusting. They organized a contest -- the Planet Surf Initiative at Menakoz in Spain -- to raise awareness and, shortly after, Surfrider Europe started up in a basement in Biarritz.
"It was hard to create an organization with all the volunteers and paid people and to be democratic and to create an efficient system," Pierre Nouqueret, present executive director and one of the cofounders of Surfrider Europe says. Nouqueret came to Surfrider from a background in French surf mags, so the initial connection to the surf industry was solid.
As time went on, however -- despite successful programs and increased membership -- cash from the surf industry started to dwindle. Nouqueret began using his marketing skills to look elsewhere. "We have better contacts out of the surf industry," he says. He uses the contacts to create such massive undertakings as Initiative Ocean, which happened with the blessings of the mayor of Biarritz and other public officials.
Not to say all French surf companies "needed constant proof" (as Nouqueret says) that Surfrider was doing its job. Quiksilver Europe has been very active helping out our boys in blue, donating cash and resources for programs as diverse as Snowrider and Initiative Ocean. But it's found (as has Surfrider) that good ole American activism isn't always encouraged. Harry Hodges, founder of Quiksilver Europe, tells a story about the time that Quik wanted to do a beach cleanup in a village in SW France. When the mayor of the town found out, he called up Hodges and was livid, claiming that if Quiksilver cleaned "his" beach, he would lose face as a good mayor.
And there are other cultural difficulties. SF Europe is in the process of starting up chapters in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Italy, but the combination of geography and lack of a unified currency and language has made the going difficult. Even within France, because most of the population doesn't live near a surfable coast, chapters are difficult to create.
Surfrider Europe's strengths lie in its creative programs (such as "Tomy" cartoons for the kids, Black Flags for water quality) and its access to an earnest labor force -- in France, interning is a much more common practice than the States, so if you go into Surfrider Europe's office in Biarritz, you'll see a bevy of 18-year-old activists making all the machinery hum. Couple that with an increasing interest on behalf of the surf industry, and Surfrider Europe is indeed looking up.
Past Victories
(1993) Conducted a doctor-supervised epidemiological study of the Aquitane coast
The conclusion found the ocean most "contagious" after long periods of rain. Many different types of pollutants and irritants were identified. Rivermouths had the highest concentration of runoff-related pollution.
(1997) Embarked on its Snowrider program
Mountain and river cleanups, informational brochures, environmentally friendly ashtrays and snowboard contests are tools to broaden the reach of the group to mountain culture.
(1997) Issues the first Les Pavillions Noirs (Black Flags)
This powerful public and media relations tool involves analyzing water quality and awarding Black Flags to local governments whose beaches and water quality do not measure up. There were118 Flags in 1998 and 91 Flags in 1999 -- getting better, but still not perfect.
(1999-2000) Beach cleanup and boycott related to the massive TotalFina/Erika oil spill off the Brittany coast
Transported volunteers to affected sites; the boycott was effective and the company agreed to pay for a substantial portion of cleanup costs.
(2000) Organized Initiative Ocean 2000
More than 3,000 men women and kids attended this three-day environmental and educational conference in Biarritz that had groups such as Greenpeace and Surfrider teaching kids and adults about what they can do to help the ocean.
Present Battles
(2000) Have a presence at beaches and large surf contests in Europe in summer
Its La Tournee des Vagues (Around the Waves) program consists of a mobile information exhibit designed to build grassroots support and show tourists the environmental aspects of their coastline experience.
(1995-) Continuation of the Tomy program
The program consists of a manual and teacher's handbook, video and slide show and a quarterly Journal de Tomy newspaper. More than 8,000 students have been exposed to SE through Tomy since 1995. (Yes, it is named after Tom Curren.)
(1997-) The fourth edition of SE's Black Flags will be published in 2000
The independent water quality-rating program continues to be an important political, media and public awareness tool.
(2000) Create chapters in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Italy
--Marcus Sanders and Jon Wagner
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