As it currently stands, together we have raised £12,852.83 for the Marine Conservation Society.
The nature of MCS’ work means that, instead of funding one project, your donations have helped support a whole roster of campaigns and movements. Indeed, the range of directions in which MCS has to work speaks to the countless fronts on which the oceans are under attack. From leading the way on sustainable seafood with an accessible app to use when ordering in restaurants, to successfully campaigning for 41 new Marine Protected Areas (the equivalent of a nature reserve which restricts commercial activities in the sea) last year, these are some of the projects your donations have supported.
One of the most visible and upsetting threats to the sea is plastic waste – something MCS works against at both ends, cleaning beaches and lobbying to reduce the use of throwaway plastics. Flying under the radar, however, are microplastics: tiny threads and fragments that are washed into the sea to poison life there. It’s a horrifying modern corollary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Unlike the 60s, instead of toxic pesticides, microplastics crop up everywhere. 63% of individual shrimp in the North Sea contain plastic inside their bodies. Microplastics have created a new and literal extreme of the Anthropocene, where very little on the planet can still be said to be truly “natural”.
MCS has spotted a change that can be made: 35% of microplastics come from washing synthetic clothes in machines without filters. One wash releases 700,000 threads into wastewater, which is eventually swept into the sea. MCS has asked the government to pass new legislation which will require manufacturers to fit filters on new machines by 2023, and retrofit existing machines the year after. It’s a difficult issue to get excited about: waste so small you can’t visualise it causing harm, washing machine parts and legislative bureaucracy don’t scream “headline material”. It’s vital, though, and its one of many small changes that will have an immeasurably positive impact.
MCS has delayed this project while the government deal with public health and safety, but you can get your name down now for when the petition goes live here.
Often “plant-a-tree” initiatives are touted as the ultimate climate change solution, when in fact other ecosystems (like peat bogs and salt marshes) are more effective at absorbing carbon dioxide and will support greater biodiversity than monoculture tree plantations. Seagrass is a perfect example of a really effective “carbon sink”, not only because it absorbs more CO2 than the same area of monoculture forest, but it also isn’t as vulnerable as other carbon sinks to attack. Unlike lumber, seagrass cannot be burnt for its carbon to re-enter the atmosphere. The most effective ecosystem – tundra covered in grass and moss – is melting because of damage that has already been done.
Seagrass absorbs CO2 and buries it in the ocean floor up to 90m deep. It’s an investment in the atmosphere which locks away carbon for the foreseeable future. What’s more, the UK’s coastline is the perfect habitat for seagrass. It's not as exciting as sponsoring a polar bear, but a donation to MCS’ seagrass project has a measurable impact to be proud of – from helping plant a square meter to being responsible for a whole advanced mooring system. As well as a positive carbon impact globally, seagrass supports cuttlefish, fish nurseries and the only two species of seahorses to live in the UK. And they are beautiful. It’s a win-win-win. Donate here.
“Seagrass beds are massive carbon sinks but have been severely reduced in English waters since the industrial revolution. If, through this project, and a sympathetic boating community we can create new beds, and enhance existing ones, it will be of huge benefit to fish and invertebrates. It will help secure and grow a habitat that is proven to absorb massive amounts of CO2”
Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, Principal Specialist, Marine Protected Areas,
Marine Conservation Society (MCS)
Recently, MCS has been faced with the particularly important task of limiting the negative impact of Brexit on our oceans. As tempting as it might be to draw lines over the ocean to meet sustainability targets, the sea does not have borders, so protecting marine life means continuing to work with Europe despite recent developments.
In the melee of “taking back control” and writing up domestic regulations, MCS is there to make sure the sustainability and health of the sea are not forgotten. In practise, that means working tirelessly on petitions and letter writing campaigns; consulting and advising civil servants; keeping informed on more advisory groups and counsels than any one of us could hope to juggle and generally taking the time to be a proactive voice for the sea through all the bureaucratic muddle.
Thank you all again for supporting a cause which I’ve grown to feel even more strongly about in the past six months of swimming in the sea. In particular, thank you to Susan and the kids at Westminster school for having me round to speak about marine conservation back in February. Off the back of my visit the students held a mufti day and raised over £700. Thanks also to everyone who shared my JustGiving page further, including Sally for writing up my story for college. Thanks also to Deborah, our contact at MCS. And finally, thank you Mum for emailing round everyone and their neighbour asking for their support. It gave me to time and space to focus on the swimming – the amount raised is as much her achievement as anyone’s and I know she is very proud of the difference we have all been able to make together.
Your donations have already helped MCS achieve so much this year, but there is always more to be done. Take five minutes to scroll through their website – each time I visit I learn something new and spot a different petition to sign or cause to be vocal about. We are a country that pride ourselves on bird conservation, but we are letting our oceans down. It’s as simple as this: it’s easier to feel a connection with animals we can see and which we share the surface of the planet with. The ocean is by nature less accessible, but by no means any less beautiful and certainly as important (if not more) when it comes to protecting us from a climate emergency. We need people to get excited about the sea for us and that is where MCS comes in.
Dan