‘This one is a slimline design with easy clip-on sections that offer a lot less resistance in the water and allows it to withstand waves,’ Mr Moss said.
The non-lethal barrier of floating plastic sections secured to the seabed replaces an older, wider design that was successfully tested at Coogee Beach, where Cockburn Council will install a leased, thin version on November 24.
Last month, Cottesloe Council agreed to ask the State Government for funds and Department of Lands permission for the 240m thin-model barrier from Cottesloe Groyne between a submerged reef and the Cottesloe Pylon to near the Indiana restaurant.
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READ NOWIf the funds and permission are granted, the council has allocated $390,000 to lease and maintain the barrier in a trial running fromNovember 1 to March 31 for three summers.
Mr Moss would install, monitor and maintain the barrier and said he welcomed any tender process but could not afford the ‘about $100,000’ cost of testing the thin design in a wave tank.
The council wants the Government to contribute because most beachgoers are from outside of the electorate of Cottesloe MLA Colin Barnett.
‘I feel we can almost commit him to funding this and then we can look at which area it should cover,’ Cr Rob Rowell said.
The Government will install two barriers, possibly net enclosures of the type trialled in Dunsborough, at a Perth and a South West site next summer.
However, Mr Barnett said the next installations the Government supported would be in calm waters and it was an issue for Cottesloe that the swimming area was in rough water.