sorrento beach – City of Joondalup

Caring for our Coastline

We all have a role to play in preserving, protecting and enhancing our pristine and wonderful coastline and beaches.

The City has outstanding local Coastcare leaders like Mike Norman and Don Poynton. Together, they have dedicated over five decades of volunteer work to help preserve, enhance and protect our pristine coastline and habitats, its rare and unique flora and vegetation communities, and the wonderful wildlife that calls it home, including Quenda and the Graceful Sun Moth. This incredible duo share their top five tips to empower you to care for our coastlines and enjoy our beautiful beaches.

Our natural coastal habitats need your help

Climate change is the biggest threat to our coastline, and we have already begun to see its effects on our local beaches. Coastal hazards, such as sea level rise causing coastal erosion and damages from storms, will only continue to degrade our City’s stunning beaches. There is a lot that residents can do to protect and conserve our natural coastal habitats.

Coastcare Tips

Enjoy long walks along the beach (not the dunes)

Native dune vegetation and dune structures can be easily destroyed if people or pets roam on the sand dunes. Friends Group volunteers try their best to maintain and revegetate the sand dunes with coastal seedlings. Admire their hard work from afar next time you visit the beach, or even enjoy the views from the City’s coastal shared path which runs the full length of the coastline.

Avoid fence sitting

Don’t climb or break the conservation fencing around the dunes, especially on the ocean side. Doing so will allow easier access for people and animals to enter the dunes, harming the vegetation and dune structures. Fencing is costly to repair and can take time to fix.

Keep our beaches pristine clean

If you have rubbish left from your fun day at the beach, be sure to discard it in the bins provided. Allow everyone to enjoy a beautiful, litter-free beach, even after you leave. Any rubbish you discard on the beach will likely end up as marine debris that can harm many sea creatures.

Recycle, don’t dump

Containers for change is a great way to recycle your drink containers rather than leaving them on the beach. Donations can be made to our Coastcare groups by depositing containers under the scheme ID C10379297.

Live sustainably

Help reduce the effects of climate change on our shores by limiting consumption, reusing, and recycling your waste and lowering your carbon footprint. Don’t just enjoy nature but do your best to take care of it so we can all keep enjoying our environment into the future.

Get involved

Even if it’s just for a few hours a year, helping out a Friends Group with some of its on-ground work will not only spoil you with stunning scenery, but you will learn more about the coastal environment and help restore the dunes and beaches!

Rubbish dumped in the sand dunes at Sorrento Beach

Get involved in caring for our coastline

There are a range of ways you can get involved with restoring and maintaining our coastline. You can volunteer with your local coastal Friends Groups. Some examples of Friends Groups’ activities caring for the coast include:

Revegetation and planting.
Monitoring and recording of flora and fauna.
Weed control.
Guided nature walks where you can learn about our natural areas.
Rubbish clean up.
Seed collection.
Community education (talks and presentations).
Fire prevention.

New and returning volunteers are always welcomed. Some events require registration, for others you may be able to turn up and introduce yourself. If you have a passion for nature and conservation, or are just interested to learn more and help the community, find out more about Friends Groups within the City’s webpage.

Protect our beaches at all times of the year

Abalone season is a time of year where there can be negative impacts on beaches. Coastal vegetation and fencing can be impacted by those trying to fish for abalone.

If you see anyone trampling on vegetation, littering, illegally parking, going into fenced conservation areas, or causing other disruptive behaviour on our beaches, please report incidents to our Field Officers by calling 9400 4000 or 1300 655 860 after hours.

Coastcare groups revegetating the sand dunes at Marmion Foreshore

Tangaroa Blue WA Beach Clean-Up

The Tangaroa Blue Foundation is an Australian registered charity focused on the health of the marine environment, and coordinates the Australian Marine Debris Initiative, an on-ground network of volunteers, communities, organisations and agencies around the country monitoring the impacts of marine debris along their stretch of coastline.

Friday 14 – Monday 17 October is the WA Beach Clean-Up weekend. People can get involved by hosting a clean-up, or by joining an organised clean-up. Last year, over 90 organisations (1,439 volunteers) joined in the WA Beach Clean-up, and collected over 3 tonnes of debris.

City of Joondalup in partnership with Keep Australia Beautiful Beach Clean-Up:

Date: Sunday 16 October
Location: Sorrento Beach between 8.30am – 10.30am (table at the bottom of the stairs at the carpark, north of Sorrento Surf Club).
Register your attendance here.

Complimentary coffee will be provided for volunteers after the clean up by Finn’s Cafe – don’t forget your reusable cup!

Bring along your hat, sunscreen, and water bottle.

Tagged shark detection receivers, warning towers installed

Sorrento Beach is one of several locations along the City of Joondalup’s coastline to benefit from new shark monitoring infrastructure this summer, including a Shark Warning System tower.

This new tower, one of four to be installed in time for summer, uses lights, sirens, and audio broadcasts to warn beach users of shark activity in the area.

It acts on information sent to it from a network receiver that was formerly 2.5km off Mullaloo and has been moved 5.63km south, and inshore, to its new location off Sorrento.

After the removal of the Sorrento Beach Enclosure in November last year, the City of Joondalup has worked closely with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) on alternative shark mitigation measures.

To expand and improve the network coverage along the local coastline, two other receivers were also relocated. The Ocean Reef receiver is now 700 metres south of its previous location, while the Mullaloo (North) receiver was relocated about 200 metres north. The location of the receiver at Mullaloo (South) has not changed.

Each solar-power receiver features the latest technology and connects to a digital phone network.

The towers, located at beaches adjacent to each receiver, are activated automatically if a shark is detected in the area.

From October to April, the towers are activated daily from 5.00am – 7.00pm. For the rest of the year, they operate between
6.00am – 6.00pm.

City of Joondalup Rangers can manually activate each tower from a mobile device, following any reports of a shark sighting.

Joondalup Mayor Albert Jacob said the City’s positive working relationship with DPIRD had resulted in a great outcome for local beachgoers.

“By working collaboratively with the State Government, we are providing a safer swimming environment for the tens of thousands of people who will visit our coastline this summer.

“Joondalup is an innovative local government and the use of state-of-the-art technology, as part of a holistic approach to shark mitigation strategies, is something we endorse.”

Further information – protecting beachgoers

Surf Life Saving WA receives partial funding for patrolled beach lifeguard services at Mullaloo and Sorrento from Tuesday 1 November – Sunday 30 April.
Coastal aerial patrols have commenced and will run until Sunday April 30 2023.
DPIRD has tagged 152 white sharks in WA waters since 2009, with 91 tagged since January 2017. The research data collected helps to inform their evidence-based shark mitigation strategy.
The City of Joondalup has installed 65 Beach Emergency Numbers (BEN) signs at local beaches to help improve emergency response times.