Cleaning up the ocean

The news these days is often times pretty grim. Disasters and pollution seem to have sadly become a way of life. Thankfully we still have a lot that we can do to change the scene.
On Saturday 13 January, a team of committed divers, volunteers and various officials got together to clean up our seas.

The Souq Al Jubail fish market is one of the most busy areas for daily fish, vegetable and meat purchases by residents of Sharjah. The marine area surrounding the souq is home to many marine animals and fish which of course sustain most of us living in this Emirate. Many boats are permanently docked here as trade and purchase carries on. What we don't know is that unnecessary trash and old fishing nets and plastic is choking the sea. 

The Sharjah Aquarium which is a part of the Sharjah Museums Authority, together with Sharjah Muncipality has been running clean up events such as this in various locations for the past 8 years. They believe that a lot can be done to create awareness on such a pertinent issue.

We get to the Khaled Lagoon at the souq where this clean up operation is about to begin. It is 7.30 a.m. on a weekend and most divers from all across the UAE and even Oman, have taken the time out from other activities to use their weekend productively. We see a lot of the local police also geared to participate. 

Held at different locations throughout Sharjah, each year the campaign removes large amounts of waste from the emirate’s beaches and underwater areas. Divers from Sharjah Police’s rescue unit, Sharjah Aquarium and Emirates Diving Centre will help with the marine clean-up operation by removing any rubbish that has sunk.

Speaking straight from the heart, Rashed Al Shamsi, Curator of Sharjah Aquarium, said, "When the turtles see plastic, they often mistake it for jelly fish. This plastic when consumed chokes their intestines, not to mention infects other marine animals as well. Till people realise that throwing garbage in the sea is not good, we will keep doing our job."


After a whole morning underwater, by around 1pm, the clean-up operation has recovered six tons of waste and litter from Souq Al Jubail marine. Once the rubbish has been collected and brought to shore, waste management company BeaA’h and Sharjah Municipality safely disposed it at one of its sites in Sharjah.

Mr. Al Shamsi adds, “The annual “Because We Care” campaign is a fantastic way of getting every member of society involved in looking after the world around them. Litter, rubbish and other forms of waste pose a serious problem to not only wildlife but also to people as well." It is hard to imagine that so much waste was lying on our shores. The team comes back to shore rejuvenated. “If we all do our bit, we can have a massive impact and make sure Sharjah remains beautiful,” says Al Shamsi.

Manal Ataya, Director General of Sharjah Museums Authority, says, “The history of the UAE will be forever linked to the sea and the land. These two elements have helped to shape the Emirates and the heritage of its people. It is therefore vital that we raise awareness in our society of the importance of protecting and respecting the natural world around us.”
There is a lot we can do. It was inspiring to be surrounded by people who proved just that.