Stone calls for action to tackle plastic pollution
North MP Jamie Stone has declared that "plastic-filled whales must be a thing of the past".
He marked World Oceans Day on Monday by tabling a written question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs asking what data the UK government had gathered on the quantity, type and harmful effects of plastic pollution in the UK’s marine environment.
Mr Stone, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said later: "We are lucky enough in the far north to have some of the most beautiful marine wildlife, but we are losing them to abandoned fishing nets and plastic pollution.
"According to the data recorded between 2015-2018 by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, we lost nine seals and a humpback whale to 'anthropogenic causes'. In other words, they washed up on our beaches stuffed with plastic or caught in a net.
"Some may remember that late last year a sperm whale was found stranded at Seilebost – just off the Isle of Harris – stuffed with 100kg of marine debris, which included everything from bags and gloves to plastic cups.
"The Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme does well to try and record some of this data, but World Oceans Day should be focusing the UK government's mind on how they could effectively tackle plastic pollution. Without the data to show why plastic is killing our ocean, it is going to be very hard to convince businesses that they must eliminate non-recyclable plastic from their production lines.
"The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for a radical plan to eliminate non-essential plastics by 2025 – it is now in the hands of our government to take action. Plastic-filled whales must be a thing of the past."