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Surf tourism is an increasingly popular niche in tourism that sparks economic development in many coastal regions around the world. Surf tourism makes use of surf breaks, which is a common pool resource and thus finite in nature, and due to the popularity of surfing, many of those surf breaks are experiencing issues of crowding. Although formal management is largely lacking in surf breaks, surfers utilize informal mechanisms such as surf etiquette and localism in an attempt to establish a structure in surf breaks. Surf etiquette is functioning but has problems: there are differences in the awareness and application of surf etiquette between different surfers. Frustrations about this, combined with the absence of rules and regulations, result in territorialism and aggressive behavior. This study looks at the presence of this phenomenon in the context of surf tourism in the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the South West of France, which is an under-researched area with regards to this topic. Specifically, the research tries to identify what the influence of crowding issues is on the local population, and how it influences their perception and behavior. A multi-method approach is applied, utilizing secondary data, survey data and interviews to explore this phenomenon and gain insights into crowding in surf breaks in the context of a well-developed, highly seasonal tourism region. Results indicate that this issue occurs widely across the coastline of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Against expectations, there are no personal or geographical differentiating factors that influence the issue. Rather, it is dependent on employment in surf tourism and differs across different times of the year. Local surfers mention how communication and respect are important in decreasing tensions in the water. Education with regards to surf etiquette, but also regarding communication and mutual respect could improve the situation, which is necessary as surfing is only expected to grow further in the future.