Sea Shepherd Australia have partnered with organisations and teams from across remote ranger programs, science and government to bring relief to the coastline of the Groote Archipelago in the Northern Territory.
This is the second year in a row that Sea Shepherd Australia have worked alongside the Anindilyakwa Land & Sea Rangers to remove plastic pollution from the beaches. This year, Sea Shepherd Australia also partnered with CSIRO – Australia’s National Science Agency, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s (DAFF) Ghost Net team, and worked closely with the local community including the Learning on Country program and Umbakumba School to share, educate and learn.
Our volunteer team kicked off the campaign by joining the Anindilyakwa Land & Sea rangers for their fourth annual Clean up Groote Eylandt Day (CUGED). Alongside the rangers, and members of DAFF’s Ghost Net team, the volunteers removed over 440 kilograms of plastic pollution from 8-mile beach, to the east of Umbakumba.
Protecting Habitats Campaigner, Grahame Lloyd, said the turn-out was incredible.
“We had 132 members of the local Groote Eylandt community join us on the day, and together we removed a massive 1,320 kilograms of plastic pollution from the beaches. This is a huge win for marine life and the beaches they call home.”
After the day concluded, the Sea Shepherd team headed back to weigh and count the findings. The team used CSIROs methodology and the ODK app which was refined for this remote clean-up based on historical data.
The next day, Sea Shepherd volunteers returned to the beach to continue the clean-up, this time joined by children from the local Umbakumba school and the Learning on Country program.
“It was an absolute privilege for our team to be able to join students from the local Umbakumba school on Country. Being able to share knowledge and stories was such an incredible experience.” Grahame said.
Over the course of the next week, the team, alongside the Anindilyakwa Land & Sea Rangers, removed a staggering 3,168 kilograms of plastic pollution from 15.5 kilometres of coastline across the Archipelago.
“The success of this campaign was thanks to the incredible collaborative effort of those involved. With the Anindilyakwa Land & Sea Rangers, local community, DAFF ghost net team, and CSIRO, we were able to have a huge impact on the surrounding marine environment.”
Sea Shepherd received funding under a Parks Australia Ghost Nets Innovative Solutions grant to support the Anindilyakwa clean up.
About Sea Shepherd:
Sea Shepherd is a non-profit conservation organisation whose mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world’s oceans to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately balanced oceanic ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.
Web: http://www.seashepherd.org.au
