Alert – Ammunition is on our shore
The UK disposed of weapons at Beaufort Dyke, a trench between Scotland and Northern Ireland. Since the 1990s, almost 200 shells, incendiaries and phosphorus flares have been washed up. Phosphorus flares are stable in water, but when they dry out, they fume and spontaneous combustion follows. If you see anything you suspect might be ammunition DO NOT touch it and call the police immediately.
Marine Litter Strategy
The Northern Ireland Marine Litter Strategy contains measures designed to change attitudes and behaviour towards littering. This will be done through education, adequate provision of bins, fining offenders and collecting data on the extent of the problem.
Marine and Fisheries Division’s role in implementation includes on-going communication with stakeholders through face-to-face meetings and this website. Support will be provided and best practice shared among stakeholders, whilst keeping track of implementation and reporting on progress.
We are currently reviewing the Marine Litter Strategy and have undertaken a partner survey to seek views on how the Strategy could be improved on to deliver more than just a sum of its parts.
European measures
The European Union is part of the international commitment to reduce marine litter significantly by 2025. As a result Descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires Member States to implement measures to ensure that litter is at levels where the “properties and quantities of marine litter do not cause harm to the coastal and marine environments”. For more information see the European Commission website.
Marine litter data
Accurate and reliable data is essential to properly manage and assess the levels of litter present in the marine environment. Data is needed to inform policy development and to evaluate progress towards meeting policy and legislative commitments such as achieving good environmental status under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD).
Voluntary and community organisations
The Marine Litter Strategy is being implemented through partnerships between public, private and voluntary and community organisations.
Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB)
Since 2012 Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB) have produced the Marine Litter Survey on behalf of the Department. Fourteen reference beaches are systematically surveyed using the internationally adopted OSPAR survey methodology.
The Marine Litter Report 2017 was published in February 2018. The Report summarises the key findings of quarterly surveys of marine litter found on ten reference beaches around Northern Ireland. The data was collected between September 2012 and October 2017.
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society uses volunteers to undertake an annual survey of beach litter over a single weekend “Beachwatch Big Weekend”. Details of how you can become involved and reports from previous years are available from their website:
Resources
Here you can download a range of material on the subject of marine litter. These include a newsletter, information leaflet and card, as well as other relevant information.