Commentary by Karl Renouf
A beach clean-up is a great way to show your support for Sea Shepherd and ocean conservation. It requires little resources other than determination and can be organized with a small amount of effort. Sea Shepherd’s Channel Islands Chapter in the English Channel holds a beach clean-up most weekends around Jersey.
We feel the ocean and its inhabitants deserve to be clean, healthy, and safe. We have such a vast array of marine wildlife life where we live and feel it’s of vital importance that we give it the best chance we can. We have many species of crustaceans, fish, anemones, cetaceans, sharks, and even the occasional sunfish and turtle.
As much as we’d love to see an end to litter in our oceans, it’s something that will probably never end as natural disasters, heavy seas, and numerous other factors bring rubbish onto our shores. So we must do our part to help where we can. To date, we have so far collected over 1600kg (3527lbs) of rubbish from the beaches!
Along the way we have also been monitoring Mermaids Purses (Shark eggs) and by doing so have been helping a local conservation group in learning which species of egg laying sharks are thriving in local waters.
A beach clean is incredibly easy to organize- find a beach, select a date and spread the word! Just remember to check the tides and bring trash bags and gloves.
You don’t have to live on an island or even by the sea to have a beach cleanup, organize one near your local lake, river, or stream.
Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has. – Margaret Mead