Parley revisit the Whitsundays for their bi-annual trip to the islands with Ocean Rafting. This time revisiting Hook and Hazelwood Island in late October 2020. The weather was PERFECT for an Island clean up with sunny weather and a 10-knot Northerly breeze; this is ideal conditions to focus on the rarely visited South-East facing beaches of these two islands.
The Prevailing wind of the Whitsundays is South Easterly. Therefore, you can expect more debris to blow into these bays throughout the course of the year. These beaches offer little shelter to the conditions as well as island visitors which generally results in a greater build-up of island debris.
Once again the haul was varied, from toothbrushes to handcrafted Indonesian fishing nets the collection of debris again shows this is a global problem, relying on a global solution. Parley promote the AIR initiative, and with two-thirds of the air we breath being generated from the ocean, this couldn’t be more appropriate. Avoid. Intercept. Redesign.
“These clean ups ultimately look at intercepting this debris, but the way to resolve this issue is ultimately to avoid using it in the first place and for consumers to force businesses into redesigning their products”
Eco Manager and Master Reef Guide – James
“It’s about always looking for ways to improve, not just as a business that is already heavily environmentally minded, but as individuals as well. Parley helps us highlight methods in which we can do that and seeing the scale of these cleans every time gives us the drive to improve in the future.” “I’m excited to be working with Parley to bring in reusable water bottles to the Ocean Rafting store to help encourage our crew and passengers to protect our beautiful back yard. Watch this space!
Hazelwood island was the perfect example of the issues of debris in the Whitsundays with North facing beaches being locals favourites; the beaches were pristine. Walk over the hill to the less-visited South-East facing bays; this is where large scale items such as oil drums, ropes and fishing nets were found.
These items over time break down into microplastics which are then consumed by marine life and then ultimately us! Ocean Rafting is proud to have facilitated Parley and 23 volunteers to make a difference on our patch of paradise.