Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo. May 26.- With the participation of 111 volunteers, the cleaning of beaches in Punta Brava took place in Puerto Morelos, as part of the 7th Festival of the Oceans of the Mexican Caribbean.
Students from the local Colegio de Bachilleres, volunteers from Delphinus and local residents joined efforts to clean up the sea turtle nesting area, where municipal and federal protection programs for this species operate.
On this occasion, 116.5 kg of waste were collected; 10 kg of scrap, 68 kg of garbage. 24 kg of glass, 3 kg of plastic caps, 1 kg of aluminum, 5 kg of cardboard and 10 kg. of plastics that were mostly fragments due to the action of the sea and the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Plastic pedaling in the ocean is one of the major concerns of scientists, because this contamination affects the entire food chain, including all types of marine fauna, from plankton to gigantic marine mammals, as well as waterfowl are feeding and dying by the devastation caused by these materials in their stomachs. It is considered that if the rate of plastics spillage in the ocean is maintained by the year 2050 there will be more of this material than fish in the sea, which will represent a serious crisis, that will result in hunger at a global level.
On this occasion the beach did not look dirty at first sight, but when making the tour it was possible to detect a large number of plastic fragments, both in the sand and trapped among the vegetation.
“Thanks to the commitment and meticulousness of the volunteers, it was possible to raise a large number of these contaminants in order to preserve the turtle nesting area of Punta Brava”, said Miguel Canseco, manager of responsibility and communication of Delphinus and coordinator of the Festival of the Oceans who invited the people of Quintana Roo to continue participating in the activities of the Festival in its third week, among which are “Amar Marea, a women’s gathering” to be held on April 29 at the Kay ‘Yok’ Planetarium of Cancun and the “Enjoy and take care of your beach” event, to be held on the beach of “Ojo de agua” in Puerto Morelos, as well as the third edition of “Film session in your neighborhood”, also at “Ojo de agua” next Saturday June 1st.
To see the program of events of the 7th. Festival of the Oceans of the Mexican Caribbean visit the page https://www.festivaldelosoceanos.org.mx/ all the events are free.
