Around thirty bays around the world – including Baie des Chaleurs – will take part, on June 5, in a major task of cleaning their beaches.
Under the theme “Together for clean beaches”, this initiative from the Association of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World is part of the United Nations World Oceans Day. This global campaign to preserve marine life and protect the planet.
“This is a first for the association. As there is a 13-hour time difference between all participating bays, the waste collection activity will begin in Japan and, interestingly, it will end here in Canada,” explains Rachel Arseneau. -Ferguson, Vice-President America of the association and member of the Baie des Chaleurs committee.
Due to its large surface area – which extends from the Acadian Peninsula to Gaspé – the local committee limited itself for this first collection to two specific sectors, namely Baie-des-Hérons on the New Brunswick side (Charlo and Dalhousie), and Carleton-sur-Mer on the Quebec side. Pickup will begin around 10 a.m. at the Eel River Bar First Nation bridge, which is also participating in the project.
“As it was a first this year, we focused on only two sectors of our large bay. If things go well this year, we could certainly extend the initiative to other sectors, that’s for sure,” said Ms. Arseneau-Ferguson.
A brief glance at the sectors targeted by the initiative, however, suggests that little waste will ultimately be collected in the region on June 5.
“When you think about it, it’s true that it’s still clean in our bay unlike other bays around the world where there are many more populations and therefore waste. It must also be said that many municipalities have already collected waste. We still targeted places where a little additional cleaning can be done. There may not be tons of waste collected from us, but we will certainly find some all the same, because unfortunately there is some all the time,” she emphasizes, noting in passing that in Carleton -sur-Mer, cleaning will be done not only on the beach, but also in the water thanks to a team of divers.
In Baie-des-Hérons, the initiative was quickly taken over by the municipal council, which is largely responsible for organizing the day on the ground. The general population is nevertheless invited to take part in this collection.
Please note that the waste that participants collect in each bay will be weighed and will be part of the global data set from Mission 1000 Tons, an NGO dedicated to the protection of marine ecosystems and a better understanding of plastic pollution.
