This is the time of the year, when volunteers will be removing marine and other debris from our coastlines, beaches and waterways. It all began 19 years ago in these Virgin Islands UK when the Conservation and Fisheries Department organized the first cleanup. It was sponsored by the then Center for Marine Conservation, which is now The Ocean Conservancy.
The International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest volunteer effort of its kind that focuses on the ocean. Over the years volunteers all over the world have been doing an excellent job collecting trash and reporting on special data cards, the type and amount of trash collected. Last year the 23rd Annual International Cleanup took place on September 20th, and a total of 390,881 volunteers in 104 countries and locations around the world, collected an astonishing 6.8 million pounds of debris, the equivalent of 17 pounds for every participant. Locally, cleanups took place from September 08th to October 12th 2008 on Cooper Island, Tortola and Virgin Gorda. There were 252 volunteers participating in the land-based cleanup and 16 persons participating in the underwater cleanup, the total amount of marine debris collected was 6,756.00 lbs.
International Coastal Cleanup will take place on Saturday 19th September 2009. The Conservation and Fisheries Department will be conducting its local coastal cleanup on the sister island of Salt Island on Friday 18th September 2009.
We are asking our dedicated volunteers and interested persons to spend about three hours collecting not only trash on your beaches, shorelines and coastlines, but more importantly collecting information on the types and amounts of debris you encounter. This information is noted on special data cards. The completed cards should be returned to Conservation & Fisheries Department. The cards are then submitted to The Ocean Conservancy who analyze and compile the information into an annual report, which gives specific information for each country. This report is used globally by policy makers to develop solutions for problems caused by marine debris and in the Virgin Islands our students have written school projects, thesis and research papers on the marine data collected.
We would very much like for your group to participate in this event. Supplies can be obtained from the Conservation and Fisheries Department. Snap shot photos showing before and after the cleanup is very much appreciated. Please contact Conservation and Fisheries Department telephone (284-494-5681 or 284-494-3429) or email us
for further information.
