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operations, both with plastic bottles, and plastic bags. The ocean is
what we all use for recreation as yacht club members, so it is very fitting
that engaged leadership is shown to the broader community vis-à-vis
ocean appreciation and improvement,” says Ocean Recovery Alliance
co-founder Doug Woodring. “This move also sends a great learning
message to our next generation of ocean appreciators.”
International Council of Yacht Clubs (ICOYC) President John
McNeill also congratulated the Club. “Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, as a
founding member, leads again with this positive action toward securing
the future, and showing the way for others in all corners of the world.”
On a national level, France banned all single-use plastic bags at the
end of March and will extend it to all kinds of disposable plastic bags
unless biodegradable – including those for packaging fruit, vegetables or
cheese – by January 1, 2017.
Though plastic pollution is old news and has been a high-priority
issue that has been driving initiatives ranging from international
legislation and guidelines for industrial practice to local beach and
seabed clean-ups, public awareness campaigns and plastic-bag bans,
this has been a year of eye-opening changes, including motions and
inventions that – for the first time – have many believing the future of
the ocean may not be all that bleak after all.
The latest studies show that we dispose of around eight million
metric tonnes of plastic into the ocean annually. In 2010 alone, about
four to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic were washed offshore, or
about 1.5% to 4.5% of the world’s total plastic production.
According to a Greenpeace study, 80% of marine debris comes from
land-based sources, stemming from tourism-related litter such as food
and beverage packaging, cigarettes and plastic beach toys; sewage-
related debris like syringes and street litter carried down by waste water;
fishing gear that commercial boats lost or dumped deliberately into the
oceans; as well as waste thrown overboard from ships and boats.
The immediate victims are, of course, marine animals. Greenpeace
says plastic debris affects at least 267 species worldwide, including
86% of all sea turtles, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine
mammal specices and numerous fish and crustacean species that either
become entangled in it, or mistake plastic debris for food and ingest
it. The French Ministry of Ecology reports that 94% of the stomachs of
birds residing in the North Sea are filled with plastic.
When the animals are not eating plastics, they’re getting caught in
them – leading to death by drowning, starvation, suffocation or infected
wounds, sometimes resulting in substantial population declines.
Stationary species are also affected: nets and lines become snaggedPHOTO: RHKYCPHOTO: PETER CHARAF