MAINSAIL ISSUE 7_Lowres

Plastic Pollution
Divers free a seal entangled in a fishing net
Y.CO Clearwater
Stewardess takes stand against
plastic waste harming marine life
Credit Troy Mayne
By Elizabeth Finney
It took a whole year to treat the turtle and unfortunately, his story is not
uncommon – many turtles not as lucky as the one saved by the Step One crew
are found with their intestines full of plastic. Plastic bags floating in the water
are easily mistaken for jellyfish, a popular meal among turtles. It is estimated
that more than 100 million marine animals and birds are killed each year due to
entanglement or consumption.
Divers free a seal entangled in a fishing net
As more than eight million tonnes of plastic makes its way into the oceans
every year, Y.CO’s Clearwater initiative is highlighting the importance of ocean
conservation within the yachting industry and how crucial it is to protect the
oceans for future generations.
In the latest in the Clearwater series showcasing the importance of plastic
awareness, Elizabeth Finney of Boat International meets with Natalya Scudder at
the Monaco Yacht Show 2017, who shares her experience of realising how singleuse
plastics can have a huge impact on the environment. Scudder is a stewardess
on board 55 metre Step One, which is available for charter with Y.CO.
“Last year when we were based in Costa Rica we had an incident where there
was a turtle floating next to the yacht,” she explains. “It was just floating on the
surface of the water so we decided to pull it out and we called the vet. It turns out
that the turtle had swallowed a plastic bag,” she adds.
More than 300 tonnes of new plastics are used every year, half of which is singleuse.
Annually, approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide, each
of which is said to have a ‘working life’ of just 15 minutes. Plastic has become
seemingly intrinsic to our modern way of life and avoiding it is near impossible.
Globally, more plastic has been produced in the last ten years than throughout
the whole of the last century.
According to a report by Plastic Oceans, a charity working closely with Y.CO,
there is more plastic in open oceans than plankton and it is getting eaten by a
huge variety of marine life. The report, which was written by Dr Geoff Brighty,
Jo Ruxton and David Jones, says: “Intake of plastics into loggerhead turtles
in the Indian Ocean between Mauritius and Madagascar included rope, line,
polystyrene, hard and soft plastic, and plastic caps – 51.4% of the turtles had
ingested marine debris, the majority of which was plastic (96.2%). This was the
highest number, weight and volume per turtle reported to date.”
“That’s when I realised the impact that we have on the ocean. It was horrible
and it made us realise that we need to make a difference,” Scudder says. This is
a global issue and there are plenty of ways to help. In a speech to captains and
crew at Monaco Yacht Show, Clearwater spokeswoman Emily Penn said: “It can
be very slow and difficult to make changes to national legislation. But on board
a yacht [captains] are the law. You make up the rules and you have the power to
change things for the better.”
Y.CO has announced that yachts and crew who offer outstanding contributions
to charity or ocean conservation will be recognised through official accreditation.
Additionally, Y.CO captains can nominate crew-members as "plastic heroes"
when contributing to ocean conservation and plastic awareness. MS
Creditline: Boat International
IT IS ESTIMATED THAT MORE THAN 100
MILLION MARINE ANIMALS AND BIRDS ARE
KILLED EACH YEAR DUE TO ENTANGLEMENT
OR CONSUMPTION.
Issue 7 >> 26