when clothing or fishing wire turns and moves across the sea floor with the motion of the waves it tangles and drags young sea fans from their rooted position. We often find coral in various states, we detangle and hope they can rejoin with the reef.
After 18months of monthly clean ups along the same beach and dive site, we find that the waste is everyday garbage and discarded belongings.
The team were most surprised to find shoes and car parts littering the shores and reef.
jagged, rusted metal - slicing and damaging reef as it is moved with the waves
entanglement bundles - if not in a snowball of destruction these fishing wires or clothing are usually found wrapped around and strangling the larger branching coral and sea fans.
single use items - it seems all too easy to quench a sudden thirst and dispose of the can or bottle with little care for the environment
Comments and Feedback
We are always so grateful to the willing volunteers who do their best to protect our oceans. We all have to remember that just because someone can't make it to the beach to help clean away the mess, doesn't mean they're not doing what they can at home.
From the ocean I say "Thank you to all those who make an effort when choosing products and packaging, those that minimise their waste by recycling and reusing 'trash' for a different purpose and to those that think before doing."
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