Marine Life & Conservation
MCS & Waitrose aim to create biggest beach and river clean event series ever
The UK’s leading marine charity, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and supermarket, Waitrose, have joined forces to create a new series of beach and river clean events to get more people than ever before cleaning and recording litter from England’s beaches and rivers.
Support from Waitrose will help MCS put on more clean-ups and mobilise the public in the fight back against the rising tide of plastic litter on our beaches. The supermarket is donating £500,000 from its carrier bag funds to MCS who will organise around 1000 beach and river clean-ups during 2017/18.
Lauren Eyles, Beachwatch Manager at the Marine Conservation Society, said:
“Beach litter has steadily risen over the two decades that MCS volunteers have been recording it on UK beaches. Last year, on average in the UK, 694 items of litter were collected for every 100 metres cleaned. Plastic bottles and carrier bags, nappies, balloons and tiny plastic pieces can be found on almost every beach in the UK – either washed up, blown there or dropped. Our beaches are suffering, and most of the litter found can be traced back to us – the general public. But we can all do something positive to help – find your nearest event and get stuck in!”
The Waitrose Beach and River Clean-up series will kick off during MCS’s Great British Beach Clean event from 15th- 18th September. People can register now to take part in clean-ups at www.mcsuk.org/waitrose. For the first time, many of the plastics removed from the beaches and rivers will be sorted and recycled, giving them a second life as new products.
The charity has worked with Waitrose in the past on its sustainable seafood programme, and says it has partnered with the supermarket because of its commitment to the environment. Earlier this month, the retailer announced that all of its own-label packaging, across all food categories, would be widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable by 2025.
Tor Harris, Head of Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability at Waitrose, said:
“The marine environment is important to all of us so the MCS beach and river cleans – with their focus on reducing pollution from materials such as plastics – were an obvious choice when thinking where to donate some of our plastic carrier bag funds. It’s our first step in donating £1 million to projects to tackle plastic pollution. This builds on our plastics environmental commitments to only sell paper stem cotton buds, nothing containing microbeads and to ensure that all our packaging is widely recyclable, reusable or home compostable by 2025. We’re excited to invite our customers and Partners (employees) to take part in local coast and river cleans to improve the areas for wildlife and all of us.”
Waitrose will also launch easier-to-recycle triangular sandwich wrappers this August. The film window will be easily removable from the rest of the pack meaning the cardboard will be easier to recycle. Last year the retailer committed to not sell any products containing microbeads and switched their cotton buds exclusively from plastic to paper stem.
The MCS Great British Beach Clean is a ‘citizen science’ project that has become the most respected and longstanding beach litter survey in the UK. Now, by partnering with Waitrose and including river clean-ups, the charity hopes to create a year-long series of events that will see over 10,000 volunteers involved.
During the MCS 2016 Great British Beach Clean, 268,384 individual items of litter were collected at 364 events by just under 6,000 volunteers. Sandwich containers, along with crisp, sweet and lolly wrappers, were the third highest find with almost 44 items per 100m.
“A trip down the beach should put a smile on your face, but there’s very little to be cheerful about when it comes to the sheer quantity of litter on our beaches,” says Lauren Eyles. “We’re delighted that Waitrose are investing in our clean-up programme and are backing this up with commitments to reduce single-use plastics in packaging.”
Anyone can register to take part in the Waitrose Beach and River Clean-ups as a clean-up organiser or a volunteer for events between 15th – 18th September or at other events that are planned throughout 2017 and 2018 at www.mcsuk.org/waitrose
Marine Life & Conservation
Leading UK-based shark conservation charity, the Shark Trust, is delighted to announce tour operator Diverse Travel as a Corporate Patron
Corporate Patrons provide a valuable boost to the work of The Shark Trust. The Trust team works globally to safeguard the future of sharks, and their close cousins, the skates and rays, engaging with a global network of scientists, policymakers, conservation professionals, businesses and supporters to further shark conservation.
Specialist tour operator Diverse Travel has operated since 2014 and is committed to offering its guests high quality, sustainable scuba diving holidays worldwide. Working together with the Shark Trust will enable both organisations to widen engagement and encourage divers and snorkellers to actively get involved in shark conservation.
“Sharks are truly at the heart of every diver and at Diverse Travel, we absolutely share that passion. There is nothing like seeing a shark in the wild – it’s a moment that stays with you forever!” says Holly Bredin, Sales & Marketing Manager, Diverse Travel.
“We’re delighted to celebrate our 10th year of business by becoming a Corporate Patron of the Shark Trust. This is an exciting partnership for Diverse and our guests. We will be donating on behalf of every person who books a holiday with us to contribute towards their vital shark conservation initiatives around the world. We will also be working together with the Trust to inspire divers, snorkellers and other travellers to take an active role – at home and abroad – in citizen science projects and other activities.”
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said:
“It’s an exciting partnership and we’re thrilled to be working with Diverse Travel to enable more divers and travellers to get involved with sharks and shark conservation. Sharks face considerable conservation challenges but, through collaboration and collective action, we can secure a brighter future for sharks and their ocean home. This new partnership takes us one more valuable step towards that goal.”
For more information about the Shark Trust visit their website here.
For more about Diverse Travel click here.
Marine Life & Conservation
Shark Trust Asks Divers to help with Shark Sightings this Global Citizen Science Month
Whether you are stuck for ideas of what to do with the kids or are off on the dive trip of your dreams. You can get involved in Citizen Science Month and help the Shark Trust by providing vital data about sharks are rays both close to home and further afield.
In addition to reporting the sharks and rays you see on your dives, the eggcases you find on the beach, the Shark Trust is looking for some specific data from divers who are asked to report any Oceanic Whitetip and Basking Sharks.
Oceanic Whitetip Sharks
The Shark Trust are looking specifically for Oceanic Whitetip Shark sightings over the coming weeks and months. So, if you are diving anywhere in the world, please report your sightings via the website or app.
Website: https://recording.sharktrust.org/
App: Search The Shark Trust in your app store
The Oceanic Whitetip. Known for their incredibly long dorsal and pectoral fins, this species was once the most abundant oceanic-pelagic species of shark on the planet.
Large and stocky, they are grey or brown above, and white below and famous for their huge rounded first dorsal fin and paddle-like pectoral fins. The fins also highly prized within the shark fin trade. Whilst they are mostly solitary, Oceanic Whitetips do occasionally hunt in groups.
An inquisitive species, they were easy prey for fisheries. Combined with their low reproductive rate, they were inevitably at high risk of population depletion. And declines of up to 99% have been reported in certain sea areas. They are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Redlist (2019).
Conservation efforts to discourage further declines include listing on CITES Appendix II and CMS Appendix I. They’re also the only species prohibited from take by all the Tuna RFMOs (Regional Fisheries Management Organisations). However, these measures do not mean that Oceanic Whitetips are not still caught – whether targeted or as bycatch – in some parts of the world. With populations declining at such a high rate, effective implementation of management measures is essential to ensure that the species can recover.
If you are lucky enough to get an image of an Oceanic Whitetip and you record your sighting on the Shark Trust app or website YOU CAN WIN! All images submitted with sightings, that also give consent to use in conservation messaging, will be in with a chance to win an Oceanic Whitetip T-shirt and mug. The competition will run until the end of “Shark Month” in July – so keep those sightings (and images) coming in.
Basking Sharks
Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus) season is upon us, and the Shark Trust is asking everyone to keep an eye out for these majestic giants over the summer months. If you see any, you can record your sighting to the Basking Shark Sightings database.
Each year, these mighty fish return to British waters to feed on plankton. You may see one, (or a few if you’re really lucky) from around April-October. They can be seen feeding at the surface of the water, where they look like they’re basking in the sun. Thus, their name!
Sighting hotspots around the British Isles include southwest England, Isle of Man, north coast of Ireland, and western Scotland. The Sea of the Hebrides is the most prolific sightings area in Scotland, but they have been spotted all around the coast and have even ventured into some of the sea lochs. The Shark Trust has received thousands of sightings since the Basking Shark project began, but more data is needed to truly understand what is going on with population numbers and distribution. You can help by recording your sightings this summer.
Great Eggcase Hunt
The Shark Trust has an Easter Egg Hunt with a difference for you to try. Take part in the Great Eggcase Hunt and get involved with a big citizen science project that helps shark, ray and skate conservation. And it’s an enjoyable activity for all the family.
The Shark Trust also want snorkellers and divers to record their underwater eggcase findings. Underwater records help pinpoint exactly where sharks and skates are laying their eggs and can help link to beach records. Learning the depth and substrate that they lay on also helps better understand the species.
Find out more: https://www.sharktrust.org/great-eggcase-hunt
Whether you are diving, snorkelling or exploring on the beach you can take part in Citizen Science Month and get actively involved in shark and ray conservation. Find out more: www.sharktrust.org
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