Gold Coast Councillors to Consider Night Lighting Trial at Snapper Rocks

Monday 2 November 2026A committee report recommends a trial during next year’s World Surf League event, and a marine scientist raises shark concerns.

Featured image: Photo by Kgbo (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image of Snapper Rocks at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast.

The proposal

Gold Coast councillors were due to consider a proposal to trial artificially lighting beaches at night to extend surfing time. The proposal is contained in a report to the council’s Transport and Infrastructure Committee, which recommends running the trial during next year’s World Surf League Championship Tour event at Snapper Rocks, the ABC reported.

Shark concerns

Daryl McPhee, an associate professor of environmental science at Bond University, said the lights could increase shark activity. He said lighting the water would attract fish and squid, which are prey for tiger sharks, and that the risk of shark bites, particularly from tiger sharks, would be heightened. Professor McPhee said tiger sharks are traditionally nocturnal.

Snapper Rocks

Snapper Rocks, at Coolangatta on the southern end of the Gold Coast, is one of the best-known surf breaks in Australia and hosts a stop on the World Surf League Championship Tour.

What happens next

The committee’s decision was due on Monday and has not been reported in the sources reviewed. If it is approved, the trial would take place at next year’s World Surf League event.

More from this day: News Today: 2 November 2026, Australia and World Headlines