Coastal towns are those towns that have a coastline. A coastline is where the land and sea or ocean joins together. A coast normally refers to the region around which sea and land form a link. Examples of coasts include pelagic coast and gulf. A pelagic coast is one that faces the ocean in an open manner. A gulf coast is also known as bay and is more sheltered than a pelagic coast. The coastal regions are very important to the ecosystem. The rivers that join the ocean have fresh water while oceans have salty water. The mixture of the two different types of waters offers plenty of nutrients to the living things in the marine (Gordon, James & Virginia 2010). Beaches offer support to animals, insects and plants, thus provide constant supply of food to the people. Biodiversity along the coastal towns has created a soaring rank of biological action thus attracting numerous human activities for many years.
Many people have settled in the coastal regions of their countries and formed major cities. Any country with a coast has formed a major city along the coastal region because the coast brings in a lot of benefits and is economically viable. In the event of war, any country with a coast works very hard in defending the coast against invaders, illegal immigrants and smugglers. This is because the coast offers an easy access point to unwanted people. Countries with coastal towns have set up permanent defenses and the navy or coast guards (Tom, 2010). From time immemorial, there have always been watchtowers with guards monitoring what comes into the coast and what goes into the ocean. This is done to ensure that the country prevents an intruder from invading its land. It also enables the country to know if some of its citizens are smuggling goods out of the country instead of using the proper channels. This is especially because the country benefits from customs duties.
The coastal regions with warm water and beaches attract tourists. Tourists like to sunbathe and tan their bodies. In some countries, tourism is the main economic activity. Some of these countries are those in the Caribbean, South Pacific and the Mediterranean (Cameron &Neil, 2013). The coastal towns offer a variety of leisure activities such as fishing, sunbathing, surfing, swimming, boating, scuba diving, deep sea diving, beach volleyball, visiting historical sites at the coastal towns, jet skiing, looking for dolphins and eating sea food (Josie, 2010). The provision of these activities offers great business opportunities for any business minded person. The coastal towns are flooded with tourists seeking leisure activities. These tourists need accommodation. This explains the availability of many hotels at the coastal towns. Most of the tourists prefer to seek accommodation at hotels that have beachfronts. This is based on the fact that they love the smell of the ocean and want to hear the waves beating the sea shore. It is also a lovely sight to see the ocean as the sun sets. Some of these leisure activities and events are discussed below together with the business opportunities they offer. The impact of these activities on individuals includes both positive and negative.
Fishing is an activity carried out on the ocean either as a sport or with the intention of getting food. The people who carry out fishing as a sport have the intention of relaxing their minds. Some prefer to fish alone while others prefer having company so as to compete and have fun. Fishing is also done with the intention of catching fish for consumption (Don, 2013). The ocean acts as a home for different types of sea animals. Different kinds of fish are found in the ocean and some are not fit for consumption. The people fishing need to acquire knowledge about edible fish to avoid health issues. Fishing is an economic activity to the people living in the coastal towns. The ocean has lobsters, prawns, oysters, tuna, salmon and many other types of fish. Some of these types of fish are very expensive and, therefore fetch the fishermen good income. Fishing is good as it helps in controlling the population of the fish in the ocean. Fish also provides people with important nutrients in the body such as omega 3.
Sunbathing is another leisure activity that is enjoyed by many tourists. Sunbathing at the beach is fun because a person can lie on the sand and the whole body gets an equal share of the sun. Many people like getting sun tan because it gives color to their bodies and get rid of the paleness of their skin. Sunbathing is healthy as long as people do not over expose their bodies to the sun. The sun has ultra violet rays which can damage the skin by causing age spots and wrinkles on people’s faces. Extreme exposure to the sun can lead to cancer of the skin (Rachel, 2014). Sunbathing should therefore, be done in moderation.
Surfing is a water sport enjoyed by many people. It is conducted by riding a wave. The wave carries the surfer to the sea shore. The best place to surf is at the ocean because the tides create high waves (Orrin, William, Joseph & James, 2011), which make it fun and possible for the surfers to participate in this sport. Surfing is also possible where waves are man-made. Man-made waves are created by boats moving fast and also in pools that are made with the objective of creating waves. Surfing can be done either by using or not using the board. It can also be done while standing or kneeling (Robinson, 2010). However, nowadays people mostly surf while standing. Surfing enables people to exercise and keep fit while having fun. It is also competitive and people can surf in form of groups. The people of coastal towns look at surfing as a business opportunity and they purchase the required gear to surf, and rent it out to the tourists. Stores in the coastal towns also stock the surfing gear for purposes of selling to those tourists who need to buy their own surfing gear. They also sell to those business people who carry out the business of renting out the surfing gear. The local people can also offer training services to surfers.
Swimming is a sport enjoyed by most people. The ocean has beaches that provide a swimming area to the people. Swimming at the beach is a lot of fun because the ocean has waves (Richard & Dancun, 2004). Waves increase the fun in swimming. The people swimming should however, exercise caution because there are times when the waves are too high and it can be dangerous. Swimming enables people to exercise and keep their bodies fit. The coastal towns also have hotels that have swimming pools. The atmosphere at the coastal region is usually hot due to high humidity; therefore people need to cool their bodies. The swimming pools act as a cooling point when the waves are too high for people to swim in the ocean.
The coastal towns offer a variety of food especially seafood. Some of the food available at the coastal towns is determined by the cultural societies in that region. Tourists like exploring different things and eating new types of food. The food at the coastal towns is exotic and provides delight to the tourists. The local inhabitants venture into the businesses of making food and selling it to the tourists. Selling fresh food is a good business because it brings the tourists back for more. The tourists also tell their other friends about the good food offered at the coastal towns and this leads to high demand for the food. Seafood provides people with the important nutrients they need to be healthy. Caution should be exercised, however, to avoid health issues such as allergies.
Leisure has a lot of positive effects on people’s lives and a few negatives. Leisure enables the people to relax and get a break from their normal busy lives. Having fun and relaxing rejuvenates the mind. Leisure enables people to get back to their daily activities with renewed energy. Leisure activities are good as long as they are taken in moderation. Some of the negative effects are caused by overindulgence in the leisure activities. A person can end up losing a lot of money on leisure if he or she goes over the budget. Staying away from work for a long time can make someone lose his or her job. The leisure activities should be performed with caution and proper training should be given in sports activities such as surfing. People should also be careful if they have allergies and therefore, avoid consuming food without enquiring whether the food can be harmful.
References
Richard Davis Jr. and Duncan Fitzgerald, 2004. Beaches and Coasts. New York: Wiley.
Orrin H. P., William J. N., Joseph T. K. & James A. G. C., 2011. The World’s Beaches: A global guide to the science of the shoreline. Los Angeles: University of California Press.
John Robinson, 2010. Surfing Illustrated: A visual guide to wave riding. Camden: Ragged Mountain Press.
Gordon D., James L. S. & Virginia D., 2010. Laboratory and field investigations in Marine Life. New York: Jones & Bartlet Learning.
Rachel Newcombe, 2014. Skin Cancer and sun safety- the essential guide. Peterborough: Need2know Publisher.
Don Pepper, 2013. Fishing the Coast: A life on the water. Vancouver: Harbor Publishing.
Josie Iselin, 2010. Beach: A book of treasures. New York: Chronicle Books.
Tom Beard, 2010. The Coast Guard. New York: Universe.
Cameron Walker & Neil Carr, 2013. Tourism and Archaeology: Sustainable meeting grounds. California: Left Coast Press.
