ALS was contracted by Bega Valley Shire Council to provide professional lifeguard services across eight local beaches stretching from Camel Rock in the north to Aslings Beach in the south during December and January. A wrap up of the season has just been presented to council staff.

An estimated 145,942 people were recorded visiting patrolled beaches during the summer school holidays.

Merimbula’s Main Beach was the busiest with over 35,000 visitors, followed by Pambula with over 21,000 and Tathra Beach with just under 21,000.

During the season lifeguards performed 137 significant rescues and 10,108 preventative actions, which includes advice to people swimming outside the red and yellow flags.

The majority of people rescued along the Sapphire Coast were visitors from Canberra and Victoria.