Successful IOT Grant to help Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Island Marine Parks

Tangaroa Blue Foundation is one of 17 grantees chosen to deliver projects that will support the recently proclaimed Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands marine parks.

The new marine parks protect 744,070 square kilometres of incredibly unique and ecologically significant marine habitats and species.

Tangaroa Blue Foundations “Indian Ocean Territories Marine Debris Initiative” will build on existing marine debris datasets and include the implementation of our robust monitoring methodologies so that we can work alongside the community and key stakeholders to measure the impact of policy change around plastics from a state, national and international perspective.

Tangaroa Blue Foundation’s WA Project Coordinator, Casey Woodward says “this is such a great opportunity to diversify the way in which we support and share knowledge with the Indian Ocean Territory community and other stakeholders to tackle key threats like marine debris to marine life and amenities. We have really focused the components of the project on capacity building and data analysis and we cannot wait to get started!”.

Some of the other complimentary projects that will be undertaken include:

  • Supporting the Christmas Island community to protect the iconic red crabs during their annual breeding migration
  • Restoring seagrass habitats to provide an ecosystem nursery for fish and other species
  • Surveying resident foraging sea turtles, their habitats, diets and movement, with a focus on green turtles
  • Researching and monitoring coral reef health and diversity, including comparing them with the diversity of reef species from other locations.

Tangaroa Blue are grateful to those that provided letters of support and volunteered their time to add value to our application. We are looking forward to the rollout of a successful programme doing our part to preserve and protect marine life in Western Australia.

This project was made possible via the Australian Governments Ocean Leadership Package supporting the Indian Ocean Territories (IOT) Marine Parks Grant.

Rig Recycle Seeks to Reel In Victoria Fishing Litter

  • Victorian fishers can now recycle their unwanted and broken fishing tackle.
  • Tangaroa Blue’s Rig Recycle Program collects fishing line, reels, sinkers, spools and spool packaging so it can be repaired, reused and recycled.
  • The program is supported by Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Fund and will see 60 recycling bins deployed at key locations across the state.
  • The Australian Marine Debris Initiative Database shows fishing litter is one of the top 10 items recovered during community clean-ups.   

Read more “Rig Recycle Seeks to Reel In Victoria Fishing Litter”

Ditch the Flick comes to the City of Wyndham

Tangaroa Blue Foundation is joining forces with the City of Wyndham to launch this campaign which aims to encourage behavioural change in cigarette butt disposal amongst the local smoking population.
 
Litter data collected from 23 stormwater drains across the City of Wyndham during the Let’s Strain the Drain Project was recorded in the Australian Marine Debris Initiative (AMDI) Database. The data identified cigarette butts as a main litter source and provided evidence for a source reduction plan.
 
Given the success of ‘Ditch the Flick’ campaigns in other locations, the City of Wyndham decided to implement this source reduction plan to address their cigarette butt litter.
 

The Dangers of Playground Rubber Surfaces

The momentum is building with another council agreeing with our rubber crumb assessment report that recycling tyres into soft fall rubber crumb is not fit-for-purpose for children’s play areas.

ABC News has written a great article talking about these dangers.
You can read the full article here

This comes on the back of the release of the Tangaroa Blue Rubber Impact Report 2021 and the ReefClean AUSMAP Rubber Crumb Loss Report 2021 which highlighted the extent of rubber crumb loss at parks along the Great Barrier Reef.

Ocean Plastic Products – Credible or greenwashing? Watch the Q&A Panel Discussion

Over the last few years, a variety of products claiming to be made of “ocean plastic” or “ocean bound plastic” or “potential ocean bound plastic” have started to appear on supermarket shelves and online stores.

The messaging appears to claim that we’ve solved the plastic marine pollution issue, including what to do with plastics recovered from our oceans. But misleading labelling on some products and marketing campaigns is causing consumer confusion.

This Q&A panel discussion unpacks the myths, truths and possibilities for recycling plastics recovered from our oceans with experts from the Environmental Defenders Office, the plastics industry and the NGO sector.

Our panel:

Heidi Tait – CEO, Tangaroa Blue Foundation
Kirsty Ruddock – Managing Lawyer, Safe Climate – Environmental Defenders Office
Brett Tait – Project Manager, Operation Clean Sweep
Royston Kent – CEO – BC Plastics
Warwick Hall – Vice President – Australasian Bioplastics Association Inc

You can watch the entire discussion below and hear from industry experts on the topic.

 

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