Solitary Island Marine Park beach sparkling clean

Marine Park Authority staff from Coffs Harbour removed 12 hessian sacks of rubbish from Sandon Beach, in the northern section of the Solitary Islands Marine Park yesterday.   

More than 1,000 items of rubbish were collected over a three hour period with, by far, the majority of rubbish being styrofoam pieces from boxes or floats (379), pieces of plastic (165) and plastic bottles (149). 

Other items of interest included netting, balloons, bait bags, clothing, glass bottles, a golf club and a few thongs. 

Most items had washed ashore from the ocean and had accumulated in the dunes over a period of time. 

“The amount of household items collected was low, as expected on such a remote beach,” said Solitary Islands Marine Park manager Nicola Johnstone. 

“In more populated areas we are fortunate to have dedicated locals who regularly clean up Solitary Island Marine Park beaches but the remoteness of Sandon Beach does not see much foot traffic and the marine debris piles up.” 

Ms Johnstone said that foam and various pieces of plastic are a huge concern, due to the possibility of a marine animal ingesting it, potentially resulting in choking or death. 

Ropes and nets can also entangle animals and result in harm or death. 

Approximately five kilometres of beach was covered, with the remaining section to be cleaned in the near future.   

The Solitary Islands Marine Park is one of six marine parks in NSW.  The park stretches more than 75 kilometres from Muttonbird Island in the south to the Sandon River and Plover Island in the north. 

The marine park is home to 550 species of reef fish, 90 species of hard coral and 600 species of molluscs and also supports a range of threatened and protected species such as the grey nurse shark, black cod, turtles, whales, shore birds and rare marine algae.  

For more information on the Solitary Islands Marine Park visit the website at www.mpa.nsw.gov.au or call the office on 6652 3977.

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