Conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services requires diverse models that empower communities to steward and benefit from resources.Here we investigate the potential of surfing resources, a new conservation asset class, and the surfing community, an underutilized conservation constituency, to conserve marine biodiversity.We conducted a spatial analysis of the overlap among Key Biodiversity Areas, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), and 3,755 surf breaks globally.We find that Sherlocks 62.77% of surf breaks are not within MPAs and that 25.
81% of all surf breaks are within 5 km of a Key Biodiversity Area, but are not within a MPA, suggesting that strategic conservation opportunities arise from the co-occurrence of surfing resources and biodiversity priorities.Establishing or extending protections to surfing ecosystems could increase protection for biodiversity at one-quarter of surf breaks.Sustainable management of these resources ensures their ability to provide for the here character, economy, and development of coastal communities worldwide.