The main objective of the project is to improve knowledge, research and information about maritime litter in the North Sea aiming to change attitudes and behaviour of key groups using the North Sea and its coasts. Activities include networking, promotion, education and research.

Within the North Sea region, over 20000 tons of marine litter are dumped every year, resulting in economic, social and environmental impacts. Beaches important for tourism are blighted with litter, while local authorities spend over ?4.2 million each year cleaning them up. Marine litter can also harm wildlife through entanglement, ingestion, smothering or toxicity. The aim of "Save the North Sea" is to contribute to a sustainable and less polluted North Sea by influencing attitudes and behaviour regarding marine litter among groups who are among the key sources of this problem: the fishing, offshore, recreational and shipping industries. Save the North Sea is supported by the Swedish, Danish and Scottish Ministries of the Environment as well as the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.

Expected Outcomes

The project will establish transnational cooperation networks between fishing, oil, recreational and shipping sectors, national, regional and local authorities, researchers, private companies and NGOs. Three country-based workgroups of environmentally active opinion builders and policy makers on regional, national and EU levels will be formed. A pilot study to investigate an alternative waste management system for the recycling of mixed-material fishing nets and equipment will be implemented. Market research studies on attitudes and behaviour will be conducted. Marine Environmental Awareness Shipping courses for possible use in other North Sea countries will also be developed along with a Marine Litter Youth study program. The Individual Blue Flag certificate program will be introduced in four North Sea countries. The project will also support policy initiatives in the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, the OSPAR convention and the Committee of North Sea Senior Officials.

Activities

Save the North Sea has an international stakeholder reference workgroup with representatives from NGOs, national authorities, private companies and interest groups. Three local reference workgroups will provide a platform for country-based discussions with politicians on regional, national and EU level on transnational marine litter issues. A training course on marine environmental awareness for maritime shipping will be implemented as a pilot study to train seamen from North Sea countries to improve compliance with regulations in everyday practices onboard ships. A maritime fishing litter initiative will be launched to highlight the problem of marine litter within and outside the fishing industry and to engage the industry in promoting better waste management practices. A pilot study will be carried out on recycling fishing equipment of mixed materials, as there is currently no data available on the volumes of fishing nets that need to be recycled or the consequences of having mixed material nets in the waste management system. Market research studies will be carried out to determine current attitudes and behaviour about marine litter. A North Sea extension of the Dutch pilot study of litter in the stomach contents of Northern Fulmars will be extended to other nations in the North Sea region. An Individual Blue Flag Certificate programme to encourage individual boat owners to make a personal commitment to decrease marine litter will be introduced in 4 countries. Finally, an educational seminar will be held for Green Flag Middle School teaching on marine litter issues.

Reported Outcomes

The project team of Save the North Sea is very successful in attracting a dedicated audience to the project activities. Politicians, international organisations, schools, fishermen and the public in general is not only being made aware about the project but more importantly about the common resource that we all share, i.e. the North Sea, and the threats from uncontrolled day-to-day practices, e.g. pollution of the water body and coast, as well as threats to living species. The project continues to attract significant media attention. Filming on Texel with Dutch national school TV for a programme on marine litter, Fishing for litter and the SNS Fulmar research was carried out and aired nationally in February. The SNS promotional film was distributed to over 500 local and national politicians, MEPs, NGOs, TV stations, and North Sea stakeholders in the whole North Sea region. Project activities include the launch of the Fishing for Litter campaign in Scotland and Sweden, a presentation of SNS at a Coastal Litter Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland and the production and distribution of an A4 information leaflet on SNS activities for stakeholders. A team from the British trust for Ornithology visited Alterra to dissect Fulmars. After training they will now be able to deliver dissection data and stomachs to Alterra for use in SNS research.