Collecting marine litter above the arctic circle.
Beach cleaning at 70 dg north? Is there really any point doing that, you might ask.
30 youngsters from Tromsø thought so, and spent this wednesday cleaning up one of the more popular beaches in the greater Tromsø area.
Marine litter is a global problem, and our beaches are no different from those in, let`s say southern Europe when it comes to this problem. Ocean currents bring all kinds of stuff our way too.
Even if the water temperature seldom reaches more than 12 deg C, the beach is still popular with families and hikers. Swimming is limited, but the view and surrounding nature makes it a great place for tenting. Unfortunately, the beach is located so that it recieves more than normal amounts of marine litter, and this spring was particularly "bountiful" in that respect.
The class was paid by the municipality to do the dirty work, and they did a great job, picking 49 sacks of garbage form a near 100 m stretch, as well as some larger plastic items.
Part of the beach, before the cleanup:
The collected items were registered using the OSPAR marine litter survey scheme, and it is possible that this beach will become part of a European network of monitored beaches: http://marine-litter.gpa.unep.org/framework/region-3.htm
A little more on marine litter, esp plastics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_debris
Anyway, some pics from the cleanup. A great piece a work, and hopefully one that will be repeated at other locations in our area.
The beach:
The view:
After the cleanup:
Detailed shot. Plastic is almost an integrated part of the pebble region of the beach. Larger pieces of plastic are ground into smaller and smaller bits between the rocks and are almost impossible to remove completely.
Update, december 2011: This beach is now part of a national, and European marine litter registration project, with 4 others. It is cleaned and registered twice yearly, using the OSPAR registration method.,
