PERREAULT Magazine JAN | FEB 2016 | Page 105

What is your current involvement? (community level and/or global level)

I am the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and we have been active on this issue for many years. We conduct beach clean-ups in over forty countries, we remove plastic ghost nets and plastic fishing gear from the sea around the world. We encourage alternatives to plastic and we encourage the recycling of ocean plastic. We helped to co-found The Vortex Project and we are working with Adidas, Bionic Yarn, G-Star, Hemp Hoodlamb and others on recycling. We are researching ways to remove plastic from the sea. Our involvement is global and it is community oriented. This last summer we enlisted divers along the Spanish, French and Italian Mediterranean coasts to remove plastic ghost nets.

In order to educate, inspire and empower individuals worldwide, we need to provide the tools for them to engage. What are the tools you / your organization are offering for people to be part of the solution to plastic pollution?

We use our ships to collect plastic and to drag manta trawls to research micro-plastic. We use our international network to organize beach clean-ups. We partner with scientists to study the impact of plastics on species, such as fin whales, in a specific marine environment. We recruit dive clubs to assist in the removal of plastic. Our approach is primarily activism and the encouragement of members of the public to get involved.

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