THE emergency services have joined forces in a new initiative to encourage Islanders to stay safe on the beach this summer.
The intention is to flag some simple, but important, “dos and don’ts” which can prevent the need to dial 999.
The States and honorary police, the fire and ambulance services, the Coastguard and the RNLI lifeguards are among those highlighting key messages for those who are heading to the Island’s coastline.
Posters are being displayed at multiple points around the coast and QR codes are being provided on social media to access information.
Watch officer Ford Ramsden, of Jersey Coastguard, said: “Jersey has a fantastic coastline for everyone to enjoy, and by taking some simple, easy steps it’s possible to make sure this can be done safely.
“We regularly encounter people who assumed they would be all right, having failed to do something as simple as checking the tide times in order to avoid being caught out.
“Although we are fortunate to have multiple rescue resources available if necessary, quite a lot of incidents are avoidable and would mean services are available for a genuine emergency if required.”
Mr Ramsden said one of his service’s priorities was the Coastguard Safety Identification Scheme, which enables owners of crafts such as kayaks, paddle boards, rowing boats and surfboards to register their equipment so that the owner can be traced if anything is lost.
Details on how to sign up to the scheme are available at ports.je/jerseycoastguard/c-sis.
Sergeant Kate Young said the States police would be taking part in the initiative and offering advice to beach users of all ages.
“We do have increased demand in the summer, including anti-social behaviour, littering and drinking which may become disorderly,” she said.
“There are laws in places which can be enforced if necessary, but we’d hope cases like that would be rare and that informal conversations will get the message across before there’s a risk that issues might escalate.”
Station commander for fire safety prevention Mark Bailey-Walker said the Fire and Rescue Service made inshore lifeboats available as an asset for Jersey Coastguard in rescues.
“We can launch our vessels from a number of points, but need to have access in order to do so, which makes the law about parking on slips an important part of the message,” he said.
The advice also covers the sensible use of barbecues.
