Should Lavallette Expand Surfing Areas? It’s a Moving Target, Officials Say

Surfers catch waves near Casino Pier, Aug. 30, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Lavallette officials say the decisions on the area where surfing is allowed on the borough’s beaches during the day is best left to the experts.

At a borough council meeting Monday, a resident asked if the area designated for surfers – usually an area located in between two guarded swimming areas – could be expanded beyond its current location at the south end of Bryn Mawr Avenue. The resident said the surfing area could be expanded since the next lifeguard station is located closer to Kerr Avenue, well to the south.

Officials said they would bring the request to Lifeguard Captain Jack Caucino, who has the ultimate decision-making authority to address guard placement and, with it, the location of the surfing area.

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“We have no objection if Jack Caucino determines it can be moved, but it’s not something we would initiate,” said Councilwoman Joanne Filippone.

The surfing area isn’t a matter that is regulated by ordinance or official policy to the extent of its location, since the tides and sandbars that develop off the borough’s oceanfront change each year and, sometimes, during the course of the summer.

“The stands are moved all the time as the dangerous of the ocean moves, and the captain and his staff are usually the only ones who determine that,” said Filippone.

Surfers catch waves near Casino Pier, Aug. 30, 2023. (Photo: Shorebeat)

Surfing in New Jersey. (Photo: Todd Binger/Flickr)

Over the years, she said, lifeguard stand locations have changed.

“The lifeguard stands in certain locations are a considerably greater distance apart and off of certain blocks,” she said, but are often moved to account for ocean conditions and the safety issues they pose.

“From New Brunswick Avenue all the way to Jersey City Avenue is a great distance,” said Fillipone, “but just in this last week, the Jersey City [stand] has been moving northward.”

Nevertheless, the resident’s request will be brought up to the lifeguard staff for consideration.

“It could happen later in the season,” she said, of any potential expansion.