Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation Barwon Coast Coastal Management and Beach Usage Research A partnership between Federation University Australia and the Barwon Coast Committee of Management Report Authors: Mr Patrick Bonney, Dr Angela Murphy Research Team: Dr Angela Murphy, Mr Patrick Bonney, Ms Jennifer Corbett, Ms Meghan Taylor, Associate Professor Helen Thompson Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation, Federation University Australia September 2018 Table of Contents List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... v Introduction ....................................................................................................................... v Research study design and questions ........................................................................... v Data collection methods ................................................................................................. vi Research study findings .......................................................................................................... vii Section 3 - Population and tourism ............................................................................... vii Section 4 – Coastal living challenges and management issues ................................... viii Research conclusion and recommendations.................................................................................. xi SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Background to the study ......................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 The Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation............................................. 3 1.2.2 The BarWon Coast Committee of Management Inc. ......................................... 4 SECTION 2: STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 6 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 6 2.2 Research questions ................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Research methods .................................................................................................. 8 2.3.1 Survey ............................................................................................................. 8 2.3.2 Focus group intervieWs and Written submissions ........................................... 11 2.3.3 Document and demographic analysis ............................................................ 11 2.3.4 Site visits ....................................................................................................... 11 2.3.5 Email and telephone feedback ....................................................................... 12 2.4 Data analysis ........................................................................................................ 13 2.5 Ethics .................................................................................................................... 13 SECTION 3: POPULATION AND TOURISM IN THE BARWON COAST REGION ......... 14 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Population groWth, coastal development and tourism ........................................... 14 3.2.1 Population: status and projections ................................................................. 14 3.2.2 Age structure and migration patterns ............................................................. 15 3.2.3 Tourism ......................................................................................................... 19 3.2.4 Understanding the essence of coastal living .................................................. 19 3.2.5 Community and management perspectives on population groWth and tourism 21 3.2.6 Beach usage.................................................................................................. 23 ii 3.3 Summary of findings for population and tourism ................................................... 24 SECTION 4: COASTAL LIVING CHALLENGES AND MANAGEMENT ISSUES................. 26 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 26 4.2 Dogs on beaches .................................................................................................. 30 4.2.1 Key points of concern relating to dogs on beaches ........................................ 32 4.2.2 Management strategies ................................................................................. 36 4.3 OvercroWding ....................................................................................................... 45 4.3.1 Management strategies ................................................................................. 46 4.4 Rubbish and waste management .......................................................................... 47 4.4.1 Management strategies ................................................................................. 48 4.5 Infrastructure and car parking ............................................................................... 49 4.5.1 Management strategies ................................................................................. 49 4.6 Wildlife and the environmental issues ................................................................... 50 4.6.1 Management strategies ................................................................................. 52 4.7 Conflicts betWeen beach users ............................................................................. 53 4.8 Signage effectiveness ........................................................................................... 55 4.9 Other issues ......................................................................................................... 56 4.10 Challenges of coastal management for management agencies ............................ 57 4.11 Summary of findings for coastal living challenges and management issues .......... 59 SECTION 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. 63 Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 66 Recommendation 1 ...................................................................................................... 66 Recommendation 2 ...................................................................................................... 66 Recommendation 3 ...................................................................................................... 66 Recommendation 4 ...................................................................................................... 66 Recommendation 5 ...................................................................................................... 66 Recommendation 6 ...................................................................................................... 67 Recommendation 7 ...................................................................................................... 67 Recommendation 8 ...................................................................................................... 67 Recommendation 9 ...................................................................................................... 67 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 68 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... 71 Appendix 1: Online Survey ......................................................................................... 71 Appendix 2: IntervieW and focus group questions ....................................................... 78 iii List of Figures Figure 1: BarWon Coast Committee of Management jurisdiction (2016) Source: BCCM ....... 4 Figure 2: Living situation and postcode as reported by survey respondents (n=1715) .......... 9 Figure 3: Age structure of survey respondents (n=1715) ..................................................... 10 Figure 4: Length of residence in municipality of survey respondents (n=1636) ................... 10 Figure 5: Age structure for BarWon Heads and Ocean Grove ............................................. 16 Figure 6: Migration in and out trends across population centres.......................................... 18 Figure 7: Interconnection betWeen valued characteristics and decision making .................. 21 Figure 8: Types of beach usage for permanent residents & visitors to BarWon Coast (n=1601) ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 9: Beach sections ranked as most commonly visited in the BCCM area (n=1601) ... 24 Figure 10: Identification that capacity to enjoy beach has been compromised .................... 26 Figure 11: Key issues compromising beach enjoyment (n=743) ......................................... 27 Figure 12: Linking issues compromising beach enjoyment to community identity characteristics ....................................................................................................................