Keeping our seas safe and clean

People power: marine debris collected by volunteers – Image source iStock.com/NoDerog; Dean Jones, dedicated volunteer with Tangaroa Blue – Image supplied

The Tangaroa Blue Foundation is an Australia-wide not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris—a major environmental issue worldwide. AMSA and Tangaroa Blue have been collaborating to address marine debris since 2007. Grace Boglev spoke to Dean Jones, a coxswain who has worked in the commercial fishing and diving industries in Western Australia for almost 40 years and is one of the foundation’s original volunteers.

How did you get started with Tangaroa Blue?

CEO and co-founder of Tangaroa Blue Heidi Tait started the initiative back in 2004. At the time we were working together. Heidi would go scouting for rubbish on the beach, and she’d talk about how much rubbish there was, and I joined her from there.

I spend a lot of time on, and in, the water and I often come across beautiful beaches polluted with rope, nets and plastic bottles. Plastic bags don’t just choke and kill sea animals, they get wrapped around outboard motors and props, so it’s dangerous for us as well as the environment.

In your time with Tangaroa Blue have you seen much of a change in how people in the maritime industry view environmental sustainability?

I’ve seen a lot more focus from business owners. I think they understand that it’s part of their future to try and keep these places clean. When you do your qualifications there’s a big focus on making sure you’re not going to pollute and if you get caught putting something in the water, there’s a penalty.

The next big priority for Tangaroa Blue is finding who is responsible for abandoning the waste we clean up. Heidi’s trying to track down the origins of a lot of this rubbish—such as where nets come from, who has been dropping bottles over the side—that’s a big job.

I think we need to increase penalties for people—especially commercial people—who are found polluting. We have training about waste management and we have to pass tests. I don’t think there’s any excuse for people working in the commercial industry who pollute.

Is there a particular instance that stands out while you’ve been volunteering with Tangaroa Blue?

A lot of drift nets that are set way out to sea end up on our coasts. I remember a great big net was pulled off Wyadup beach in Western Australia. Heidi coordinated the effort and the Navy took on the removal because it was so big— I think it was one kilometre or so of net. It would have been incredibly dangerous if someone had run over that in their boat.

What would you tell someone considering volunteering with Tangaroa Blue?

Stop thinking about it and do it! I’ve been passionate about it since I started, and I’ve tried to instil that in my two boys as well. We’ve made a family rule that whenever we go to the beach, we make sure we pick up rubbish before we leave.

Interested in joining Tangaroa Blue? tangaroablue.org/about-us/get-involved You can also help by reporting marine pollution directly to AMSA amsa.gov.au/marine-pollution