Marine wildlife sanctuary exposed to plastic waste

A campaign for the marine cleansing of the Keralim Bay, the first biological marine protected area in Korea, was held on 15th by the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement.

KFEM(Korea Federation for Environmental Movement) argues ▲ Reducing the annual amount of marine litter to 180,000 tons ▲ Expanding that the marine wildlife sanctuary by more than 10% and carried out garbage collection and separation.

Marine Environmental Supporters of the KFEM cleaned the Beolchunpo Beach for 2 hours.

They collected more than five trash. Large quantities of fishery waste such as hydrogen peroxide cans, rock cans, fishing lines, and ropes were collected. Besides, household waste such as shampoo barrels, ramen bags, and firecrackers, which were considered to have flowed from the nearby camping sites, were found.

"After cleaning up the sea today, once the tide is gone, new waste is collected from the sea again," said the activist. "We are allowed to work in the marine life protection area for spotted seals, The problem is serious, "he said.

Park Bum-jin, who participated in the campaign today, said, "It is a pity that one hundred people will pick up garbage that one person accidentally throws away."

"For marine protected areas to function properly, we must prohibit activities that could pose a threat to biological protection, such as fisheries," the activist said. Currently, fishery and catering are allowed in the marine life protection area of Korea.

Korea is a member of the Convention on Biological Diversity and has agreed to achieve up to 10% of marine protected areas by 2020. Currently reported Korea's marine protected area is 1.63% as of 2018. According to the World Conservation Union, the World Marine Reserve is 7.26%, and 30% or more for biodiversity conservation is active. To this end, it is expected that Namyang Bay of Mars will be designated as a marine protected area. However, measures should be taken for the environment where plastics and fishing line are reported to threaten marine life.

Marine Environment Supporters The Marine Supporters is a citizen volunteer corps that participates in and promotes marine protection campaigns carried out by the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement.