Words by Smiley Team
Global marine conservation charity, Sea Life Trust, has announced its biggest clean-up mission yet: a 24-hour beach clean event that will take place across the world at Sea Life attractions – from Sydney to Brighton.
World Ocean Day is an international day that aims to increase public interest and awareness of how to protect the planet’s seas and how to sustainably manage its resources.
Volunteers who take part in the beach clean across the UK (and the world) are encouraged share pictures, with the hashtag #GlobalBeachClean to help raise awareness of the dangers pollution has within our waters and to our sea creatures.
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Sea Life Weymouth’s Animal Care Team will be taking the beach clean one step further as they set out to dive to look for the rubbish found beneath the surface on the seabed, to help reduce the risk of this damaging the wildlife.
“Most of the littered plastic waste worldwide ultimately ends up at sea," Graham McGrath, the Head of Sea Life Trust.
"The litter washing up on our local shores is not just unpleasant to look at; it also harms and kills our precious wildlife. Hundreds of species of marine wildlife including seals, seabirds, turtles and whales have mistaken marine litter for food resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.”
The need for events such as the Global Beach Clean is crucial in creating a safer environment for sea creatures to exist in.
It is estimated that 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans each year and that by 2050, these waters could have more plastic than fish.
Of all the plastic that has ever entered the ocean, it is estimated that just 1% is floating on the surface, whilst the rest sits below on the seabed or in the stomachs of marine animals.
JOIN: Join the fight against plastic pollution this World Ocean Day and beyond via your local Sea Life clean-up.
SUPPORT: Find out how you can help and support the Sea Life Trust.
