365 @ 54°30' South: July 1: Marine debris survey at Bauer Bay

Sunday, 5 July 2015

July 1: Marine debris survey at Bauer Bay

This morning I headed out with Ranger-in-Charge, Andrea Turbett to Bauer Bay on the west coast to assist with the monthly Marine Debris Survey. The route to Bauer Bay takes us up onto the Plateau via the Doctors Track and then over onto the Island Lake Track (the ILT), a fast and easily navigable route, to drop down into Bauer Bay. The lakes were frozen, and the entire landscape was a picturesque blending of shades of grey. We danced over the icy track, and arrived at the hut around lunchtime. After dropping our packs at the hut and taking on board some hot blackcurrant juice,(known here as BCJ), we hit the beach, buckets in hand.
We were most excited to see what had washed ashore in the big seas. As well as loads of kelp our haul included approximately 10 plastic bottles, 60 pieces of hard plastic, 40 bits of rope, and 165 pieces of 'green string'.
The green string has been washing ashore at Macquarie Island and a number of other sub-Antarctic islands, and is thought to be used in long line fishing for Patagonian Toothfish.
One exciting find was a fine piece of plastic which carried text with a please return if found instruction. The return address was NIWA in New Zealand.
We searched until dark only covering a small portion of the beach, such was the amount of debris. We counted weighed and photographed our load. Pre-dinner conversation was dominated by brainstorming what NIWA was and who would possibly expect such a small piece of plastic to be found, let alone returned!
We are such a small speck in the remote southern ocean, and yet still plastic lands upon our shores everyday.
After cooking a dinner of pasta and butterscotch pudding, and completing our nightly Sched with VJM (the Station), we settled in for the night, happy with our efforts.