The aim of this paper is to analyse the meaning of beach safety flags and their management along the Northern Spanish coast. There are more than 1000 small beaches, which are often in high demand by tourism during the summer season. To carry out the research, most of main beaches have been visited to observe and analyse the meaning of all the safety flags and their correct use depending on the oceanographic and meteorological conditions. The influence of the beach safety management and regulations on the use of beach safety signage has been also analysed. The results show that safety flag systems differ even between very close beaches where safety management is in the hands of different local governments. Outdated and local legal framework and the absence of an agreed system between the different organizations that provide lifeguarding services seem to be behind this lack of uniformity. A specific guide for beach safety flags and signage within a national safety beach plan agreed by all the autonomic or provincial governments may be a solution.

本文的目的是分析西班牙北部海岸海滩安全标志的含义及其管理。有 1000 多个小海滩，在夏季旅游旺季往往需求量很大。为了开展这项研究，我们访问了大部分主要海滩，根据海洋和气象条件，观察和分析所有安全标志的含义及其正确使用。还分析了海滩安全管理和法规对海滩安全标志使用的影响。结果表明，即使在安全管理掌握在不同地方政府手中的非常接近的海滩之间，安全标志系统也存在差异。过时的地方性法律框架以及提供救生服务的不同组织之间缺乏商定的系统似乎是这种缺乏一致性的原因。在所有自治或省级政府同意的国家安全海滩计划中制定海滩安全标志和标志的具体指南可能是一个解决方案。