The Great British Beach Clean 2019 is coming up next month.
The Marine Conservation Society’s annual event has been on the go for 25 years and they’ve removed more than 300 tons of litter from our beaches.
With Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle launching its week of action on the Clyde in September too it’s a chance to get involved cleaning the shorelines and river banks all across the country.
I’m going to one over by Leith . With a litter picker, bin bags and my wellies on, I reckon I’ll try to get a cast in off the breakwater while I’m there.
It’s not just on these events and drives that we can help out. Anglers represent an army of millions who respect the environment and can play a huge role in keeping our freshwater and coastal environments free of litter which threatens wildlife, pollutes the natural environment and damages the rich and diverse natural beauty of Scotland.
As anglers , we’re often the wardens on the banks, we bring all our gear down and should be more than capable of bringing all our litter and debris back.
The right of access in Scotland means we’ve got responsibility to leave the place how we’d like to find it.
With litter and plastic pollution becoming an increasing problem on land, in our waterways and in our seas, the public’s attention is focused on the issue.
It doesn’t take many fishermen leaving the banks in a state to give us all a
bad name.
I’ve spoken with groups like Wardie Bay Beachwatch, which is promoting responsible use and campaigning with local authorities and business owners in Edinburgh to provide suitable rubbish disposal on the shorelines.
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs volunteers are taking similar steps on the west coast – check out their website and see if you can get involved helping the rangers.
It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture, though. Simple steps make a big difference. If every angler in the country made a point of picking up five items of litter just once over the course of a year, anglers alone would be responsible for removing a million items of litter from the environment.
● GOOD luck to those fishing in the Reel Friends and Family Fishing Club competition
on Sunday at Greenock’s Custom House Quay.
It’s an inclusive community club that offers everyone a chance to get involved regardless of experience.
Check them out on Facebook for more details.
