Region’s scenic bay blighted by litter
Beach has some of worst levels of coastal littering
ENVIRONMENT: A Yorkshire beach designated a Marine Conservation Zone has some of the worst levels of coastal littering in the country.
Runswick Bay, near Whitby, ranked 27th out of 112 protected areas in the UK for the density of litter recorded during research carried out by the Marine Conservation Society.
A YORKSHIRE beach has some of the worst levels of coastal littering in the country, despite being a designated Marine Conservation Zone.
Runswick Bay, near Whitby, ranked 27th out of 112 protected areas in the UK which were studied as part of research by the Marine Conservation Society for the density of litter recorded.
The Special Areas of Conservation at Flamborough Head and the Humber Estuary were also included in the survey.
The research found that the amount of litter found at beaches within protected zones was no less than that recorded outside of the conservation areas.
These include the 91 marine conservation zones, 256 Special Areas of Conservation and 89 special protection areas created for birds.
Plastic was revealed to be the main form of litter found, and ‘public littering’ was said to be the most common identifiable source.
There were regional differences in the type of items found, which ranged from fishing detritus to sewage emanating from nearby river estuaries. The work was carried out by the University of Exeter, Natural England and the Marine Conservation Society. Dr Sarah Nelms from the university, said a co-ordinated approach was the only way to manage reducing litter in these areas.
She said: “Our work has found that marine protected areas, which often contain sensitive marine habitats and species, are exposed to litter much in the same way as non-protected sites.
“Marine protected areas have
no physical boundaries so, to protect them from any potential impacts of litter, we need to take a whole-system approach and reduce the overall amount of litter being released into the environment.
“We also need a co-ordinated approach that considers local nuances, tackling sources of litter that cause specific problems in certain areas.”
The study, which used 25
Research sheds light on how pollution respects no boundaries.
Dr Hazel Selley, from Natural England.
years of beach clean data collected by volunteers from the Marine Conservation Society, found marine protected areas in Kent and Devon and Cornwall to have the highest levels of shore-based litter.
The report said the study demonstrated the value of citizen science as an approach to generate useful data on the state of the marine environment. It is thought to be the only study of its kind to look at such a broad area and across 25 years and it contributed to the understanding of marine litter.
Dr Hazel Selley, from Natural England, said it was an incredibly important issue which urgently needed tackling.
She said: “A clean, healthy and biologically diverse marine environment is immensely valuable, for the economy in coastal communities, for our charismatic wildlife and – once we can travel again – for the mental well-being benefits of spending time by the sea. This research sheds light on how marine plastic pollution respects no boundaries.
“As we continue to research the impact of plastics on our marine life and move to eliminate avoidable plastic waste, it’s also clear that we all have a role to play keeping our beaches and ocean clean.”
■ The paper is published in the journal Environmental Pollution.