Working from the tidal pool towards the Point, the interns formed teams of two and began the meticulous task of picking up marine debris and trash. It became a race against time to see which team would collect the most trash and win the coveted prize of sponsored T-shirts.
Pat Dickens from The Seals of Nam explained that marine debris is an enormous problem in our oceans.
"Marine creatures, particularly seals and sea birds, get entangled in plastic twine, box strapping, rope and fishing gut. It causes painful wounds, impedes their ability to hunt and in some cases, even causes them to drown."
He continued by saying that as plastic breaks down in the ocean, it gets mistaken for food by turtles and gulls.
"Plastic cannot be digested and it clogs the animal's digestive track to the point where it will die," he said.
With Mossel Bay's Point being a popular place for weekend visitors, the beach clean-up also proved to be a boost for tourism. Several onlookers congratulated the teams for their endeavours.
"We live in one of the most beautiful places on earth. The ocean is a major draw card for visitors. Keeping beaches clean and litter free is of utmost importance if we wish to continue attracting tourists to our region," said Dickens.
"We are very grateful to the folks from Oceans Campus and would like to congratulate John and Stephano for collecting the most trash."
The most common items collected were plastic bottles, fishing gut, rope and styrofoam packaging.
Gillian Lourens, a local who also took part in the clean-up, said it was definitely something she would like to be involved with again.
"I enjoyed myself today. It feels great knowing that I have done something good in giving back to the community."
The Seals of Nam is currently running several projects in which they hope to encourage people to get more involved and environmentally aware. A cash prize of R10 000 is up for grabs and will be allocated to a scuba team that retrieves the most debris from the ocean. The organisation has also launched a project which takes children from disadvantaged communities on field outings.
"We are encouraging others to also get involved in this initiative," said Dickens.
"As a registered non-profit organisation we are hoping local businesses will step up to the plate and assist us by sponsoring our social responsibility programme."
Anyone who is interested in sponsoring the programs should contact patdickens@thesealsofnam.org.
Interns from the Oceans Campus and members of the Seals of Nam did a great service to the marine environment last weekend, as they participated in a much-needed beach clean-up.
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