Love sailing and boating?
As harbours and marinas have reopened and people get back to sailing and boating, Litter Free Coast and Sea and Natural England have joined together to ask boaters to think about where they are going to the toilet.
Sarah Spurling from Litter Free Coast and Sea explained “We want to thank all those boaters and sailors who show their love for our harbour and use onshore toilets, install a holding tank, use sewage pump out facilities or, if they can’t do any of these, wait to flush at least 3 nautical miles offshore. Discharging untreated sewage from a boat in a harbour is extremely damaging and antisocial. It can create all kinds of problems and costs, from water quality to cleaning issues.”
• Toilet discharge leads to bacterial contamination (E. coli) which affects our bathing waters, and aquaculture such as shellfish production.
• Elevated nutrients can lead to eutrophication effects such as very dense green weed, affecting coastal birds by reducing the availability of shellfish and worms they feed on.
• Smelly rotting seaweed can also affect our enjoyment of the harbour, not for just those on the water, but also for those living nearby
The message is being communicated by a humorous animation that can be viewed at: bit.ly/loveyourharbour
Renowned British Sailor Dee Caffari is supporting the campaign “As sailors we have a responsibility and a vested interest to protect the oceans from potential negative impacts of boating, we can all do our bit to ensure clean and healthy waters. I am supporting this campaign to ‘love your harbour'”
Are you a local boater? Litter Free Coast and Sea are asking you to share the animation with fellow boating friends and follow the guidance.
