Sunday 22 / September / 2024
Muscat: Oman Sail reinforced its commitment to preserving the environment and keeping the nation’s beaches clean by organising a beach clean-up operation at Al Mussanah Public Beach to mark UN World Clean Up Day. A team of 60 volunteers from Oman Sail, Barcelo Mussanah Resort, Environment Society of Oman, Al Shirs School and the local community came together to remove 47 full black sacks from the beach.
The most common item found in the sand was plastic water and soft drink bottles, which can be fully recycled. In addition, volunteers removed two large fishing nets and ropes and five car tyres. Unfortunately, a dead Loggerhead Turtle was also found and taken away. Oman is home to several species of endangered turtles who use the warm waters to feed and sandy beaches to lay their eggs. Plastic and fishing debris in the water is one of the main causes of injury to sea turtles who mistake it for food and get caught in the nets.
Wahida Al Zadjali, corporate affair officer at Oman Sail, said, “We are in a unique position to see the impact on our seas and oceans from waste that should be disposed of responsibly but, unfortunately, is not. The amount of rubbish removed from the beach this time is both disappointing and encouraging. We hope that in showing how much has been left behind, we can help to educate communities on the impact of leaving small – and much larger – pieces of waste behind, and the role they can have in preserving our natural environment for the benefit of our unique species, families and sailors.”
Oman Sail has always taken great pride in its environmental conservation efforts and has set two Guinness World Records for the nation. In 2021, when representatives from 73 different nations at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Mussanah and in 2023 when volunteers collected over 32,316 plastic bottles to create the largest sentence formed from empty plastic bottles.
On behalf of the nation, Oman Sail also signed the United Nations’ #CleanSeas campaignto reduce plastic use and promote community awareness about environmental conservation.
