GREAT BAY – On Sunday August 13 the Nature Foundation will organize a beach cleanup on Simpson Bay Beach as part of the ‘Save our Sharks’ project in collaboration with the Boskalis Beach Clean Up tour. The Boskalis tour is an initiative of the North Sea Foundation where business, consumers, civil society, and government clean the entire Dutch coast. This year the cleanups will be held throughout the entire kingdom for the first time; all the Dutch Caribbean islands will be participating.
The Foundation is looking for volunteers to help clean up the St Maarten beaches. “Young or old everyone is encouraged to join and help to preserve nature, marine life and wildlife on St Maarten; “We must all be aware that as an island our garbage ends up at our beaches and in our ocean; we have the responsibility together to keep our beaches clean and safe,” SAYS Nature Foundation Project Manager Melanie Meijer Zu-Schlochtern.
It is estimated that more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic float in the oceans with disastrous consequences for marine life. Worldwide, coasts are flooded with plastic waste and many marine animals get stuck in plastic bags and packaging or mistake plastic for food with often deadly effects. A recent report states that in 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic than fish.
Research from 2015 shows that 48 percent of fish tested had plastic in their stomach, reason enough to join the beach cleanup.
The cleanup will start at Simpson Bay Beach at 8 a.m. (meeting point Karakter Beach Bar), after the cleanup there will be drinks, stickers and goodies for all participants. Interested participants can leave a message on the Nature Foundation Facebook Page.
Source: TODAY http://today.sx/environment/beach-cleanup-sunday-simpson-bay/
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