How to Save the Scottish Seas During a Pandemic

For the past year, COVID-19 has had a huge and devastating impact on people's lives all over the world. Unfortunately this has meant that conservation, and therefore also taking care of our planet, may have been put on the back burner whilst concentrating on keeping people safe. On Wednesday we were so lucky to have Tara Proud from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) join us for a fascinating talk about marine conservation in the midst of a pandemic. She presented some great ways of incorporating marine conservation into your everyday life that can be done from home or socially distanced, all summarised here in six tips!

1. Beach Cleans

Beach cleans are a great way for anyone living close to the coast at the moment to get stuck in and help keep our oceans tidy. It can be done in small groups (2 or 4) whilst socially distancing. All you need is 100m of beach and a survey form from MCS to fill out what you find! Civil survey data from these beach cleans will then be used to present to governments and inform decision making. The Great British Beach Clean is to take place from the 17-26th of September 2021, so get to your local beach and get picking!

Source: Marine Conservation Science

2. Plastic Challenge

Tackling the plastic pollution issue can also start at a much earlier stage and at a personal level! Tara Proud suggests joining the Marine Conservation Society Plastic Challenge by registering and committing to cut down your use of single-use plastics. These can be little things (but with a big impact) such as switching to a reusable face-mask, choosing food without plastic wrapping, using beeswax wrap instead of clingfilm - and beyond!

Source: Marine Conservation Society

3. Minimise Microfibres

Our clothes are made of millions of tiny fibres, many of which are plastic, in fabrics including polyester, nylon, acrylic and polyamide. A single clothes wash can release over 700 000 microfibres into wastewater, which ends up in our oceans, making plastic microfibers the most commonly found microplastic in the oceans. Worrying results from studies have found that 63% of shrimp in the North Sea contain synthetic fibres. Action can be taken towards reducing microfibres by legislation on filters on all washing machines. By signing the Stop the Threads Petition, you can support this important campaign in asking UK Governments to bring in legislation that requires washing machine manufacturers to fit microfibre filters in all new domestic and commercial machines, by law, by 2023.

Source: Marine Conservation Science

4. Take Part in Citizen Science

Get involved with citizen science projects contributing to marine science, such as the Jellyfish Watch survey and the Big Seaweed Search. These are easy to do on a coastal walk, by taking pictures of any jellyfish you see or recording and identifying any living seaweeds you find!

Source: Natural History Museum

5. Sustainable Seafood

If you are eating fish, try to ensure that any fish you buy or eat is sustainably sourced and not endangered, by downloading the Good Fish Guide and avoid red rated fish. Tara Proud also suggests choosing a variety of seafood, not always the most common fish in the supermarket. Follow labelling, so look out for the MSC or ASC label on packaging. Read our blog post on a guide to eating sustainable fish for more!

Source: Pittman Seafoods

6. Keep Up to Date with Policy

Finally, to stay informed on the latest policy news on environment and conservation, read the Scottish Environment Ocean Recovery Plan to keep up to date with MCS’ policy work to keep motivated!

If you would like to watch the talk from Tara Proud, please contact us and we can send you the recording!