The term Blue Flag Beach will not mean much to people here, but one can rest assured that tourists know exactly what it is and will seek them out in preference to other beaches.

Last week, Tourism Minister Francis Zammit Dimech officially announced that the reclaimed beach, St George’s Bay, in Paceville had been awarded Blue Flag Status.

So what is this Blue Flag all about? It is a certification that a beach has all the necessary safety equipment to ensure bathers’ safety and that the beach is clean and does not pose a danger to bathers’ health. There are, of course, other criteria, but all in all that is what the Blue Flag stands for.

Aside from the actual benefits that Blue Flag status brings with it, it is also an issue of perception. Foreign tourists, especially those from the United Kingdom, are used to seeing this certification all over their own respective countries. As a result, if they see Blue Flag status beaches in Malta, it will definitely boost our credibility.

We do perhaps need to err on the side of caution though. The biggest mistake would be to go out and give the status to all our beaches without properly ensuring that they do meet the standards and criteria set out according to the Blue Flag.

But one must also look at other beaches such as the popular Golden Bay, the Riviera Martinique, Mellieha Bay, Paradise Bay and Pretty Bay. It is high time that the country got a beach management plan in order. It was heartening to hear that life guards are being put on duty on certain beaches.

Let us face it, unfortunately it does happen; tourists and locals alike do find themselves in difficulty on occasions in the sea and this can even lead to deaths, as we see every year. Golden Bay, for example, is notorious for its under-sea currents which have swept many an unsuspecting bather far out to sea.

Perhaps aside from lifeguards, we should also introduce the concept of swimming lines, which are ropes that lead to shore, so that if a person is in difficulty, they can simply grab on for a rest, or haul themselves back to shallower waters. It would also help those people who attempt to rescue swimmers in difficulty. There are some in place at certain beaches, but more would certainly be welcome.

Another issue which must be tackled is the filth that people leave behind them after a barbecue or a day at the beach. Every morning, without fail, the beach cleaning crews get into action to clean up the previous day and night’s mess. We have seen, time and time again, the huge amounts of rubbish that people leave around.

This in itself is senseless; we should be more responsible and clean up after ourselves. Perhaps an ideal deterrent would be a few warden patrols to ensure that people are not littering. It is also dangerous; many people have been hurt by stepping on glass, charcoal which is still smouldering under the sand and various other dangerous bits and pieces.

On this note, while we have seen new waste disposal bins placed at certain beaches, there are still far too many of those old cut off oil drums that double up as waste bins. They are hideous, amateurish and do not inspire people to use them at all (especially if a colony of bees is lapping up the dregs of ice cream in plastic cups).

We do not have many sandy beaches and they are an important asset. We should definitely do more to maintain them (and this applies the users too) and get them up to Blue Flag

standard.