How clean is our Northland sea?

Northland's coastline is a catchment for rubbish; do we do enough to keep it clean and tidy? PHOTO/MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM

Northland has a marine pollution problem.

"Colossal" was how marine conservationist Wade Doak described the volume of rubbish volunteer-operated group Sea Cleaners has collected from Northland's beaches and waterways.

On and off, across seven months, Sea Cleaners says it has picked up more than 1.6 million pieces of rubbish.

Along the way, members noticed some disturbing signs of the effect plastic is having on our eco-system.

For example, and you can't escape the irony with this one, real fish are nibbling on the plastic soy sauce fish that accompanies your sushi.

Northland prides itself on that hoary old cliche about being clean and green, but that image has taken a hit in the past year or so.

At least three large roadside tips have been found, where people dumped their rubbish because they can't be bothered going to a proper dump and paying for it.

If you think about it, the sea is an even better place to dump stuff: out of sight, and out of mind if you're out deep enough.

Littering is a mentality some find hard to fathom. Personally, I struggle to understand who would dump three big screen televisions in Whangarei's Town Basin, for example.

I also struggle to get why fishers throw their plastic bait bags overboard, into the water.
It's ignorant laziness.

If they keep doing it, there won't be any fish to catch.

Sea Cleaners are looking for an extra $150,000 in funding so it can pick up rubbish throughout the year, and not just in inconsistent blocks.

Here's hoping it gets the funding.

There needs to be major change amongst Northlanders' attitudes, though. Because ultimately, we don't want to have to rely on Sea Cleaners.

If you keep picking up clothes from a teenage boy's floor, he'll never pick them up himself.

If Sea Cleaners are granted the money to extend its service, here's hoping a similar amount is invested in educating people and changing attitudes.

Otherwise, we'll keep littering and Sea Cleaners will keep picking it up, and the rubbish it doesn't see or can't get to will keep pouring into our ocean.

Ideally, there shouldn't be any need for Sea Cleaners.

But if the volume numbers are correct, it may be around for some time.