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Stormont's environment minister has called for a marine litter strategy in Northern Ireland.
UTV News reports that Alex Attwood joined thousands of volunteers taking part in a morning cleanup on the shores of Belfast Lough for the Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch Big Weekend.
The minister said he has demanded that his department implement a marine litter strategy to deal waste washing in from the sea.
"Our coast is a great asset and we must keep it in good order," he said. "Marine litter is widespread and the problem can only be tackled at the source.
"I am amazed at the variety of plastic debris and packaging that we have found."
Beachwatch Big Weekend took place across the UK as part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup.

Stormont's environment minister has called for a marine litter strategy in Northern Ireland. 

UTV News reports that Alex Attwood joined thousands of volunteers taking part in a morning cleanup on the shores of Belfast Lough for the Marine Conservation Society's Beachwatch Big Weekend.

The minister said he has demanded that his department implement a marine litter strategy to deal waste washing in from the sea.

"Our coast is a great asset and we must keep it in good order," he said. "Marine litter is widespread and the problem can only be tackled at the source. 

"I am amazed at the variety of plastic debris and packaging that we have found."

Beachwatch Big Weekend took place across the UK as part of the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup.

Published in Belfast Lough

William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland and internationally for many years, with his work appearing in leading sailing publications on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a regular sailing columnist for four decades with national newspapers in Dublin, and has had several sailing books published in Ireland, the UK, and the US. An active sailor, he has owned a number of boats ranging from a Mirror dinghy to a Contessa 35 cruiser-racer, and has been directly involved in building and campaigning two offshore racers. His cruising experience ranges from Iceland to Spain as well as the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, and he has raced three times in both the Fastnet and Round Ireland Races, in addition to sailing on two round Ireland records. A member for ten years of the Council of the Irish Yachting Association (now the Irish Sailing Association), he has been writing for, and at times editing, Ireland's national sailing magazine since its earliest version more than forty years ago