Fishing for Litter Scotland landed its 1000th tonne of marine litter just before Christmas – a great way to end a brilliant year for KIMO.
Fishing for Litter Scotland participants celebrated reaching the milestone at Peterhead Port on Friday, 6th January 2017. Almost a third of the litter was landed at the Aberdeenshire harbour, which is Europe’s largest fishing port.
Stephen Paterson, Deputy Chief Executive of Peterhead Port, welcomed a group of stakeholders, including Skipper Jimmy Buchan and George and Sandy Watt from Peterhead Port. They were part of the team of more than 250 fishermen and port staff who took part in the project.
Professor Colin Moffat – Head of Marine Science – attended on behalf of the Scottish Government. He gave a fascinating insight into the damage done by marine litter and why projects like Fishing for Litter are so important.
KIMO UK‘s board were also out in force. Cllr George Farlow travelled from Ullapool to join Cllr Fiona McRae and KIMO UK Chair, Cllr Raymond Christie.
Cllr Christie said:
“Reaching this milestone is a great achievement and I would like to thank all of the crews and harbour staff who took part for their fantastic efforts to help protect our precious marine environment and shoreline.”
Professor Colin Moffat and Stewart Stevenson, MSP.
A very serious issue
Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham sent a message of support. She said:
“Marine litter is a very serious issue both for Scottish seas and across the global oceans. It is shown to harm wildlife and the natural environment whilst impacting on our marine industries through damage to subsea and coastal infrastructure, vessels and fishing gear.
“The Fishing for Litter project supports the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling the issue of marine litter through our Marine Litter Strategy. I would like to congratulate KIMO on their success in reaching this milestone. I would also like to take the opportunity to commend those fishermen who are participating and making a real difference in cleaning up Scotland’s seas.”
Stewart Stevenson, MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, also attended the event. He added:
“Our north-east coastline provides a livelihood for thousands of people. As well as providing a habitat for countless species of marine life. Therefore, it’s our duty to protect it and I applaud our local fishermen for going above and beyond to remove so much litter from our waters.”
Here’s to the next 1000!!