Everyone can help by opting for non-plastic alternatives in our daily lives, participating in local clean-up initiatives and supporting organisations such as OzFish Unlimited. Discarded rubbish pollutes our waterways, destroys aquatic habitats, poisons animals and can deplete a waterway’s oxygen.
Dr Matt Landos shared some insights as to why initiatives such as Keep It Clean are so vital.
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Invisible invaders of our waterways
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ACH time you go fishing, it’s an opportunity to make a difference and the Fish For Life – Keep It Clean campaign encourages you to commit to this environmental stewardship. When you dedicate your time to cleaning up shorelines and riverbanks, you prevent plastic and debris from harming marine life and inspire others to follow. Discarded rubbish pollutes our waterways, destroys aquatic habitats, poisons animals and can deplete a
CREATING BETTER HABITAT FOR BETTER FISHING Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2024
waterway’s oxygen. That’s just the big stuff that you can see. Microplastics, fragments of plastic less than 5mm in size, are infiltrating our rivers, oceans and even the air we breathe. These particles originate from larger, broken-down plastic items, synthetic fabrics and cosmetic products. Microplastics come from the bigger items we sometimes find on our waterways, so it’s crucial to pick up what we can see before they get too small to dispose of. Researchers recently discovered microplastics in the soils of a remote walking and running trail in the Dumaresq Dam Reserve near Armidale, NSW. Since they’re plentiful on land, you can bet that few Australian waterways are free from the clutches of microplastics. Whether it’s the remote rivers untouched by urban development or the vast expanse of the ocean, these pollutants have made their presence known. They travel through air currents, run-offs from agriculture and urban wastewater, creating a cycle of pollution that affects even the most secluded areas.
While industry is responsible for some microplastics, more pollution comes from everyday people. Every year 130,000 tons of plastic leak into Australia’s marine ecosystems, a large portion of which is single-use plastic. By 2050, plastic in the ocean may surpass the weight of fish. While the situation may seem daunting, there are steps we can take to mitigate this crisis. Opting for non-plastic alternatives in our daily lives, participating in local clean-up initiatives and supporting organisations such as OzFish Unlimited, which regularly organises events to remove debris from waterways, are some examples. For more information on clean-up events, visit ozfish.org.au/projects/ keep-it-clean or organise one ozfish.org.au/ projects/wasted-waterways-clean-up-day The partnership between OzFish Unlimited and the NSW Department of Primary Industries is funded by the Recreational Fishing Trusts and Marine Estate Management Strategy, making events such as these possible.
OzFish Unlimited
www.bnbfishing.com. au
