Ocean Heroes cleanse Bijilo beach

By Aisha Tamba The Gambia Ocean Heroes, a group of environment volunteers, recently completed their second beach cleansing exercise at the Bijilo beach. Program manager Maiyai Hocheimy, said the exercise was part of efforts geared towards helping changing people’s mindset as regards pollution and the environment. “During the weekend, people always come around the beach for picnic party, leaving trash behind. This is not good for our health since most of the things they leave behind are plastics, cups, bottles and so on. “Most plastic debris cannot be decomposed and remains suspended in the ocean and river currents for years. Marine organisms can become snagged on the plastic or mistake it for food, slowly killing them over a long period of time,” she stated. She said The Gambia Ocean Heroes clean-up exercise started in Kololi areas, Bakau and Tanji, adding that January and March Banjul and Barra would be next. She called on the youths to take responsibility of cleaning beaches, especially after picnics. One of the volunteers said plastics that are discarded on land eventually run off into the ocean and that marine organisms may end up consuming them. “In The Gambia, what we consume mostly is fish and this could be very dangerous for our health,” he added. He urged government and hotels around beach areas to join in the crusade to making our beaches safe and clean. The Gambia Ocean Heroes Project are a group of volunteers in The Gambia, who are concerned with the growing level of pollution along the Atlantic Ocean and the River Gambia.]]>