28 bags of marine litter removed from Mayo beach
Volunteers and Clean Coasts officer Olivia Jones with the litter removed from Blacksod Bay beach.
A group of 25 people, including eight schoolchildren, turned out in the rain to take part in a pier and beach clean at Blacksod Bay on Sunday, March 30th, as part of the Clean Coasts Roadshow events.
The event was supported by Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s (BIM) Co-ordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems (CLAMS) initiative. Others in attendance included members of the local community, local fishers, businesses such as Blacksod Sea Safari, Dúlra Iris Seaweed, and organisations like the Mayo Irish Whale and Dolphin group, Mayo Volunteer Centre and Solas Eachléim Centre where light refreshments were served following the clean-up.
The event also included a talk on marine litter, highlighting the issues, and some of the support available to coastal communities from the organisations in attendance.
In just over an hour, the attendees had removed a 12 cubic yard sized skip full of waste from the coastline. This consisted of 28 bags of marine litter, entangled rope and nets, and numerous lobster pots.
This clean-up is part of a series of coastal clean-ups taking place in Europe under the INTTERREG Atlantic Area-funded project Free LitterAT project.
Clean Coasts Development Officer for Mayo, Olivia Jones, said: “This type of event really demonstrates the positive impact we can have on our environment and our sense of place in the community when we pull together for our localities.”
The Clean Coasts Roadshow is a series of informative talks and workshops tailored for coastal communities across Ireland, taking place between January and May each year. This initiative brings together individuals interested in protecting their local beaches, seas, and marine environments.
