In 2021 swimming in a backyard pool or open ocean is good for you and beach ecology too

Summer is the season when we like to cool off with a plunge into water. For some it’s in the local or backyard swimming pool, but others prefer the salt water of the ocean.

Sometimes referred to as “wild swimming“, it is happening at many of the beaches, coves, bays or estuaries in Australia.

But wild swimming is not only good for our health, it can also be good for ocean and beach ecologies too.

A healthy ocean plunge

Annual competitive ocean swims, such as the Byron Bay Winter Whales and the Bondi to Bronte, are a mainstay of many Australian coastal towns and city suburbs. Daily and weekly recreational swimming groups are also well established at many of our beaches.

In European cultures, immersion in salt water has long been believed to…