Beach litter:strings and lines and stuff

[Jonquil_d]

I've had a thing about litter generally since long before it became an issue.
I remember seeing a gannet with a length of fishing rope and a piece of net caught around its wing and draped down to its foot. Instinctively I went towards it without thinking and it flapped off to an offshore bar- no idea what became of it or if it ever managed to get free.
I remember finding a partial skeleton of a gull, later ID'd as a lesser black back gull, entangled in seaweed, I thought, until on removing the seaweed I discovered nylon fishing line wound round and round the gulls neck. I tried to imagine what sort of death it had died.
Ever since I have made a point of removing any string or line from the beaches I visit and carry a plastic bag to enable me to do so more easily.
It only takes about half an hour to fill a bag in most places....but at least there are now a few bags worth of string and lines and bits of net that won't find their way round the necks wings and feet of seabirds on the beaches.
It's enough to make me wild about Britain

[cicelythepotter]

lost fishing lines arent just a problem on beaches, i spend a fair amount of time out in my canoe and regularly find lines and evil looking pike lures tangled in trees often at convenient eye height- most of my fishing gear comes from these. maybe there ought to be a system for fishermen to report lost gear to the local canoe club so that it could be removed?

i once found 5 mackeral lines on one beach in scotland each with about 5 hooks- there were kids walking around barefoot- im amazed more people dont end up with hooked feet- not to mention the wildlife!

wish someone would invent biodegradeable fishing line...oh wait....they did..in the stone age.

[bigdave60dog]

Have you ant idea the amount of dmage that is done by rubbusk in the sea?
Fish,crusteacans,turtles (yes, in Britain) seals, dolphins and whales all suffer and die tangled up in ropesn nets and lines. Some turtles staple diet are jellyfish. They eat plastic bigs instead with dire results, Fulmars eat tiny bits of fish etc drifting in the sea. They eat plastic istead, their crops are cpndstantly full so they don`t get hungry and so get malnurished. Some never come into breeding condition, some die.
Research has demonstarted that there is recently recognised form of pollutant in the from of tiny plastic particle everywhere.There is no part of the sea, nowhere too remote for thsi pollutant to have reached. If I had my way plastic per se would be removed from commerce totally regardless of the commecial consequences. It is better to have to go through the inconvenience of change than to have a barren Earth that is incapable of supporting life. The we have global climate change which is very, very real to us islanders.
The whole marine scene is heartbreaking for those of us who live in Island communities and are watching our seas slowly dying for the sake of carelessness.
It is time to speak out against rule by finance and accountants. Polititians who are elected on promises of cheap and pleasant futures are really destyroying everything that we value.
Dave

[Jim Ford]

It's the tip of the iceberg!

See:

Great Pacific Garbage Patch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There's a similar ones in the Atlantic and other oceans.

Jim

[cicelythepotter]

I heard about that island of rubbish in the pacific last year then i went to the hyperbolic crochet coral reef exhibition in london- the whole thing was to raise awareness about the issue of coral bleaching and pollution of the seas- im a fashion textiles student and we went with college. not long after i lectured some horrible children about it when i saw them dropping litter despite the fact they were actully leaning aginst a bin! ratbags- 50 years ago theyd have got a clip over the head by the nearest passer by..

in my opinion, I think no non recylable/ biodegradeble packaging shouldnot be manufactured or used at all which would rule out things like polystyrene , and littering should be punishable by a weeks litterpicking/ wading around in ditches wearing a huge sandwich board that proclaims to all and sundry that they were a lazy drain on society who was too lazy to bin their rubbish.

whenever i take the canoe out i usually come back with bags of rubish, what gets me is that some of it has even been bagged up before it was thrown into the river! people like that should just be shot!

[Jonquil_d]

Four responses, 161 views , so there are a few people interested in the topic.
But as posters have made clear it is a huge problem....so what can be done?

There is certainly a problem- so what do we do about it?

In a small way we can all clear the stuff we come across- that will make a difference.If I save one bird from strangulation by moving one piece of fishing line that makes it worth while.

WE can encourage others:
1 Not to leave litter
2 To take litter off the beaches

If everyone who visited the beach not only left no new litter but moved one piece someone else had left there would be a slow but steady improvement

WE can campaign with groups like MCS
by writing letters to MP,s when there are Marine
Conservation issues on the go,
by writing to the companies that produce the stuff that makes
the pollution.
Or we can throw up our hands in horror and say somebody really ought to do something and just watch the problem getting worse.

[healfdan]

Down on the south coast in Selsey a small group of people take coastal pollution seriously.
Organised litter picks where every item is identified, bagged and weighed are carried out frequently plus a large scale annual clearance. But sadly a few days after our visit seaborne and terrestrial rubbish begins to build up again. We are all volunteers doing our best to improve the local environment, protect the marine life and preserve our valuable coastal heritage. It amazes me why people choose to live close to the sea with its beautiful views and bracing air yet ignore the filth and rubbish that threatens to pollute the environment they profess to love.
Healfdan

[Jonquil_d]

Glad to hear there are groups that are seeking to take direct action on this one. What do you do with the results of your separation and bagging?
I guess I live about as far away from the sea as it is possible to get in Britain.so opportunities for that sort of direct action are a bit restricted around here.
Don't know whether British Waterways would take kindly to a group doing something similar on the Huddersfield narrow canal which at times is quite disgusting..or if there would be others who would join a group to do it.

[healfdan]

Sorry forgot to mention all items are logged and the results sent to the Marine Conservation Society.
Healfdan

[Jonquil_d]

There was a major item on BBC news this lunchtime about underwater litter clearance being carried out by volunteer scuba divers in Welsh Coastal waters.
There is a Marine reserve off the Pembrokeshire coast and it was said that miles of line had been removed along with bicycles lobster pots tyres, and even a kitchen sink. The line was brought up with weights and hooks attached.
Footage showed a dogfish being released from a hook: otherwise it would have died a slow and lingering death. An appeal was being made to anglers to minimise the amount of line abandoned. Footage also showed how line could cause damage to coral by cutting through the living organisms attached to rock surfaces. More power to the divers operating in South Wales and to the Beeb for airing the issue,in such a clear and compelling way.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10791614