Cleaning by Kayak

Recently SEA LIFE Trust ANZ and SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium participated in some kayak clean ups of Sydney Harbour, thanks to the amazing Laura & Ben from Sydney by Kayak. A range of staff members, from across our aquarium, including General Manager, Richard Dilly, got up at the crack of sunrise with a serious mission – to do some good while having fun. And kayaking on Sydney Harbour is pretty up there when it comes to fun.

Sydney Harbour is one of the most iconic locations, arguably, in the world.  And from the land side it looks pretty amazing. However, when you take a sticky beak into all the nooks and crannies of our beautiful harbour beaches, or under the many piers and wharves, it’s a completely different story. There is rubbish everywhere.

Yes, water quality has improved over the last few decades. However the prevalence of land based pollution and litter is everywhere you look, once you start looking. And the saddest part, it’s impacting upon our marine life in devastating ways. Pelicans swallowing discarded fishing hooks, rescue turtles pooing out recreational fishing line, other birds and fish getting caught in plastic cups and bottles. Fish getting wrapped up in plastic bags. Turtles with straws up their nostrils. And these are only the things we’ve seen. Most animals will die slowly, having ingested plastic or getting entangled in line, and not being able to sort themselves out.

So with all our collective will and enthusiasm, we decided we wanted to do something about it. Yes, SEA LIFE Trust, SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, Sydney by Kayak paddlers, and so many other organisations and individuals are out there cleaning beaches and waterways daily. But we wanted to ramp up the awareness and solutions. We want a plastic free harbour. And surely, with all the community love for this icon, it’s achievable.

So SEA LIFE Trust ANZ is kicking off our Sydney Harbour Clean Up Fund – small to start with but starting nonetheless. We want everyone who loves our harbour to help clean it up. You can help by donating to our Sydney Harbour Clean Up Fund where we’ll fund waste solutions such as Seabins, or other solutions that rethink our plastic packaging.

You can donate here and help us build our Sydney Harbour Clean Up Fund, or let us know what you’re doing to help clean up our stunning Sydney Harbour at info@sealifetrust.org.au. We want to collaborate and share all the amazing work the harbour community is doing to address the unrelenting tide of pollution in our oceans and waterways.

Where there’s a will there’s a way. We’ve got this!

You can check out Sydney by Kayak’s Clean Up Kayak tours here.