2016-05-30
On Saturday I was down at St Kilda Beach to participate in one of Sea Shepherd's many beach clean-ups. Sea Shepherd of course organises beach clean-ups all over Australia. The amount of marine debris collected by the hundreds of volunteers on Saturday was truly shocking. In the end volunteers collected more than 200 kilograms of debris in more than 25 large bags. Sea Shepherd is just one of many, many dedicated groups and organisations that regularly arrange beach clean-ups.
Among the items most commonly collected from beaches is plastic — plastic bags, plastic packaging, straws, cups, bottles and cutlery. It is extremely disappointing that the Victorian government has not yet acted to place any restrictions on plastics. This government has done nothing for the environment since it was elected. Those of us who attended on Saturday learnt just how much damage all of this plastic is doing to the marine environment.
Of course damage to the marine environment also means damage to the fishing and boating industries, as well as damage to the health of everyone who eats seafood. Given the gravity of the problem, it was particularly heartening to see the event covered by the media. Acknowledgement must go to Erin Lindwall, Sea Shepherd's coordinator of the marine debris campaign, and her team for such a sterling effort.