Ocean Conservancy Reminds Beachgoers This Holiday Weekend to Start a Sea Change and Protect the Ocean and Marine-Life
To: NATIONAL EDITORS
Contact: Michele Capots of Ocean Conservancy, +1-202-351-0436, mcapots@oceanconservancy.org
WASHINGTON,May 22/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As we celebrate Memorial Day Weekend and the opening of beach season, Ocean Conservancy reminds beachgoers to Start a Sea Change and help protect the places they love. In April, Ocean Conservancy released data from their International Coastal Cleanup revealing that the majority of the trash collected along beaches and waterways around the world is the result of shore-line and recreational activities. An environmental problem with a solution in reach – we need to change our individual behaviors that are trashing our beaches.
Trash in the ocean kills one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles each year through ingestion and entanglement. Last year, volunteers found 81 birds, 63 fish, 49 invertebrates, 30 mammals, 11 reptiles and one amphibian entangled in debris that included discarded fishing line, fishing net, rope, plastic bags and six-pack holders.
This summer, its time to look beneath the surface to see where the health of the planet really begins – the ocean, said Laura Capps, Senior Vice President for Communications and Outreach. Putting trash in the proper receptacles, recycling and using reusable bags are just some of the ways we contribute to our own health, the health of the ocean and a better future. Trash doesnt fall from the sky, it falls from our hands.
Our ocean is sick. Harmful impacts are exacting a toll we can no longer afford to pay — overfishing, ocean trash, pollutants, coastal development, habitat destruction and most of all, global climate change. Two or more degrees of warming, which is quite possible, will devastate many coastal communities, kill the worlds coral reefs and result in mass extinctions of marine organisms. And with World Ocean Day approaching on June 8th, this is the time to renew our call for increased ocean conservation.
Small strides make a world of difference. Start a Sea Change this summer. Join the International Coastal Cleanup on September 20th, a global celebration of a year-long effort of preventing trash.
For more information about the Ocean Conservancys International Coastal Clean Up visit: www.oceanconservancy.org/icc.
SOURCE Ocean Conservancy
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