Ghosts on the Coast

Will Soltau is Sustainable Fisheries and Salmon Farming Campaign Manager for Living Oceans Society.

It's the time of year when ghosts and goblins make their annual appearances around the neighborhood. On the ocean the Flying Dutchman - a ghost ship cursed to forever sail the seven seas and never reach safe haven - is one of the oldest spooky stories. But there are more ghosts on our coast.

Some are closer to port. Derelict vessels abandoned, sinking and threatening to pollute.

Under the waves lost or abandoned traps and nets lie in wait to trap and entangle the unsuspecting.

Then there are the more modern ghosts on our coast. The tonnes of plastic and other waste drifting around in gyres and washing ashore to inter-tidal zones, entangling and getting ingested by all sorts of sea creatures and breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. All of these ghosts impact marine ecosystems and not in good ways. They all have a scary legacy.

Lots of folks want to clean up this ghostly debris from the ocean and we're helping them make a difference through our new Clear the Coast program. Check out the link and see if you want to get involved.