Last week, an experienced diving team of 16 volunteers from Stichting Duik De Noordzee Schoon removed plastics and fishing nets from 15 wrecks between Ameland and Helgoland. These plastics and nets come from cargo from cargo ships like MSC Zoë or lost by fishing vessels. 

The diving team has recovered 8 Big Bags of lost cargo and fishing nets from shipwrecks in 18 dives. With this, more than 3500 kg of mainly plastic has been removed from the North Sea.  

The type of waste found on the shipwrecks varies per location. Waste is still found near Ameland and Schiermonnikoog in the form of foot baths or plastic blankets from the container disaster on 2 January 2019 with the MSC Zoë. Much waste has since been washed under the sand. As a result, it remains present and a problem for the future. This clean-up campaign by Duik de Noordzee Schoon and other clean-up campaigns at sea and along the beach show how much effort it takes to remove plastics from the sea again. If we were to be more sensible with our sea, none of this would be necessary. 

Lost fishing nets and lobster cages have been found further east. These lead to unnecessary deaths of fish, lobsters and crabs due to entanglement. On Helgoland, the plastics were found in the nests of the Jan van Genten colony.    

This expedition is part of the 3-year CleanUp XL project in which Stichting Duik De Noordzee Schoon participates together with salvage companies, the Waddenvereniging and Stichting De Noordzee.