Iris Clelford for Whistlefish
Oceans cover 70% of our planet, and wherever you are in England, you’re never more than 70 or 80 miles from the sea. Yet our seas will soon have more plastic waste than fish, unless we act soon. Microplastics end up in seas (from laundering synthetic fabrics) and even electric car batteries requiring mining of the coean floor. Read The Ocean Hero Handbook to look at damage and how to help through everyday changes. Also read how to help our marine creatures and be a greener boater. And volunteer to clean your local beach.
- The best way to help clean up our oceans is to live a simple zero-waste life. Cut back on single-use plastic. Stock up on reusable toothbrushes, grocery bags, baby wipes etc, to help reduce plastic waste. Switch to search engine OceanHero. For every 5 searches, sponsors remove a plastic bottle from the ocean.
- Don’t drop litter and take anything with you. Don’t drop things on the beach (or off boats) and choose biodegradable beauty, cleaning and laundry brands (scented naturally with aromatherapy – use unscented for pregnancy/nursing, babies, medical conditions and pets).
- If you fish, take fishing litter with you. Set up a local recycling scheme, to safely dispose of all fishing waste in a secure bin, which does not look like a nesting site to birds and small mammals.
- Surfers Against Sewage has a kit to download and start a beach clean. Get the council on board to add more litter bins, so your work is not in vain. Keep safe by using gloves and sharps boxes. Also read how to sustainably surfing the ocean waves.
One must be careful regarding ‘ocean cleaning devices’. Although invented for good intentions, reports suggest that these items (that use technology to clean plastic from the oceans) suck up marine creatures at a rate of around one per every 3 littered items.
Ryan Stuart says ‘removing plastic from the ocean is a losing game’ and suggests what we should do instead. He notes of marine biologists who have expressed concern over using ‘technology’ to clean up ocean plastic (most of which cannot be collected, as it is broken down into millions of pieces of microplastics, with just 3% of the world’s ocean plastic floating on the surface). Instead, he suggests the solutions are more long-term and organic than that: use less plastic, recycle it properly after use, and volunter to clean up a beach, river or canal in your community or abroad.
The Seas Surrounding England
Alongside the Atlantic Ocean (which faces Ireland on the west coast) and Isle of Man (in the middle of the Irish Sea), England has three main seas (some counties like Devon face different seas – the south faces the English Channel and the north faces the Bristol Channel and Atlantic Ocean):
- The North Sea is on the east coast, and is a shallow sea (connects to the Atlantic Ocean) that is found in Scotland and Scandinavian countries. Over-fishing has led to many endangered species.
- The English Channel is on the south coast and is the busiest shipping area on earth. Many people have swam the 20 miles (100 years ago it took 22 hours, today just 7 – people are getting fitter!) French coastguards want a ban for unauthorised swims, due to ship collision risks. If you do swim it – you still need your passport when you arrive!
The Irish Sea (obviously) faces Ireland (the crossing from Holyhead is notoriously seasick-inducing). It’s one of the most polluted seas on earth, due to being a busy shipping and fishing route, 17 oil/gas drilling platforms and the (now closed) Sellafield nuclear power station (it will take up to 1000 years to process the waste). Not good news for sharks, dolphins and porpoises that live here. The rarest sea bird in Europe visits these coasts in summer, and the rarest goose wings in during winter.
A Quick Guide to Oceans Worldwide
The Pacific Ocean (Latin for ‘peaceful’) is a choppy sea with volcanoes underneath, that covers 30% of the world’s surface and includes Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The Atlantic Ocean is half the size and includes the Gulf Stream (which makes England warmer than Scandinavia).
The Indian Ocean has warmer waters (home to humpback whales) but is at risk of oil pollution due to tankers connecting the Middle East with Asia.
Smallest are The Southern Ocean (at the South Pole, near Antarctica where the penguins and albatrosses live).
The Arctic Ocean is at the North Pole (where polar bears live). But melting ice due to climate change means the ice here is shrinking 8% every decade.
