Wouldn't it be insane to be sitting on a gold mine, looking at it every day, and not knowing it's there? Well, this is exactly what's happening in Puerto Rico.

Imagine if Vail Resorts didn't know it had an amazing ski mountain. People are traveling from around the world, chasing snowstorms, riding its slopes and there is no ski patrol, no fences or signs warning of dangerous areas and there is no one around to advise or guide you in the mountain. Crazy right?

That's exactly what happens in Puerto Rico. We have people traveling from around the world chasing swells to surf our waves which are produced by cold fronts, tropical storms and hurricanes, but there are no ocean safety programs, no ocean safety teams, no lifeguards (at the most dangerous beaches), no plan to make ocean sports safer and basically no hope that this industry will ever be developed.

FEAR

Why do we ignore this amazing natural asset that has the potential of giving Puerto Rico economic growth? There is a very simple reason, FEAR of the ocean, even though ocean sports should be natural to the Island, there is a cultural fear of the ocean that has hampered its development.

Back in 1968, Gary Hoyt, then president of Young & Rubicam and Puerto Rico surfing pioneer, explained in very simple words why water sports hasn’t been developed or supported by the government. “Hurricanes, pirates, sharks and a whole assortment of imported misfortunes bred an ancestral fear of the sea in Puerto Rico. As a result Puerto Rico found itself in 1955 with very few swimmers, only a small core of skin divers, and absolutely no surfers. It simply wasn’t done and the thought of doing it was either laughed at, or strongly cautioned against as prohibitively dangerous”.

Flash forward to 2017, and still most of the Island, specially the government is clueless about the economic potential surfing and other water sports could bring to Puerto Rico.

Now, take a look at our leaders, governors like Hernandez Colón, Romero Barceló or even more recent ones like Fortuño or even Rossello...do you think they know the economic potential of surfing and water sports in Puerto Rico? Do you think they know about Tres Palmas, Wilderness or Gas Chambers? I don't think so and I don’t blame them, it’s a cultural thing. Unfortunately, we have never had anyone, in any agency, not even the tourism company, that sees the potential of economic growth that surfing and ocean sports could bring to the Island.

The Gold Mine

You don't have to be an expert economist to see how much money local and visiting surfers contribute to towns like Aguadilla, Rincon and Isabela. Go to Isabela, Aguadilla or Rincon when the weather bureau announces a high surf advisory and you will see lots of cars with boards on their roofs at gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, bars etc, pumping money into those towns economies.

Need some proof? In 2002, Dr. Linwood H Pendleton Assistant Professor at UCLA, made a study about the value of coastal tourism in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The study helped stop a project that was threatening the Tres Palmas area and fortunately it was successful in stopping it. The study showed that every year surfing would inject at least $52 million to Rincón’s economy.

In a more recent study, from February 2016 made by the University of Oxford, “Natural Assets: Surfing a wave of economic growth”, which found “that surfing waves contribute US$50 billion to global economic activity each year. This amounts to an average contribution of US$18-25 million per wave per year”.

Now, Puerto Rico has around 90 surfing waves or surf spots, if each has the potential to generate $18 to $25 million, this means we could be generating from $1.62 to $2.25 billion each year.

Conclusion

By not developing ocean sports infrastructure and most importantly ocean safety, we are hampering the economic growth and development of the Island. We need our Government to take an analytical view of this industry and conduct studies that will help develop ocean sports around the Island.

Right now, there is a project threatening a stretch of world class surf breaks in Aguadilla named Columbus Landing. This project was stopped in 1995 and now it has come back from the dead, taking advantage of the economic situation in Puerto Rico and has managed to get questionable permits from the Natural Resources Agency. If this project moves forward the way it is planned, it could potentially destroy the waves at, Wishing Well, El Mix and Wilderness. If each of those waves has the potential to produce $18 to $25 million dollars, we are talking about a $54 to $75 million dollar loss every year for Aguadilla.

Just to be clear, I'm not against development of private property, I'm against development of private property that could affect the coastline in a negative way. Any project near the coastline needs to be carefully analysed, with the required studies to make sure the coastline will be protected during and after construction.

You can help stop this project by donating your time, resources, connections, talent, money etc. Go to http://www.saveplayuela.org to find detailed information about what’s going on and DONATE! It’s important that everyone who loves surfing and ocean sports gets involved!

#economiadelvisitante