Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s for World Ocean Day: Making art with a message with litter collected from Waitematā Harbour

World Ocean Day has, over the past 20 years or so, highlighted the multiple threats to the health of our oceans from mining, fishing, pollution and rubbish.

This year, the team at Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s have commissioned a unique artwork to help get that message across.

Auckland community artist Jane Ellis from Rainbow Rascals has created a mural using litter collected from the Waitematā Harbour by the conservation group Sea Cleaners.

Dan Henderson of Sea Life Kelly Tarlton's and Jane Ellis with the marine turtle collage made from litter collected in Ōkahu Bay and Tāmaki Estuary. Photo / Alex Burton

Dan Henderson, general manager of Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s, says that the project was a collaboration between his team and Sea Cleaners.

“Our team joined Sea Cleaners and went out with them for two days to collect rubbish around the local harbour,” he said. “Then we’ve worked with our partner, Rainbow Rascals, who have spent about 20 to 25 hours to create this piece of art.”

The result is a marine turtle collage constructed from rubbish collected in Ōkahu Bay, the inner Tāmaki Estuary and the Viaduct Harbour.

Turtles have been spotted frequently over the years around the New Zealand coast, but generally are in poor health often due to environmental factors such as ingesting plastics.

The marine turtle mural under construction: rubbish collected from Auckland waterways (left and right) and the mural taking shape (centre). Photos / Supplied

Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s operates the only turtle rescue and rehabilitation programmw treating Green Sea turtles, Loggerhead, Hawksbill and Olive Ridley turtles over the years.

Two Lime Scooters, a car fender, assorted plastics and even a broken couch were some of the items retrieved from the foreshore areas in Tāmaki Makaurau.

“All of this rubbish was found locally in the harbour, outside Kelly Tarlton’s and in the surrounding areas,” Henderson said. “The Hauraki Gulf is under immense pressure at the moment through urbanisation, bottom trawling, overfishing and pollution. There (are) very real threats facing the harbour.”

The campaign to respect and protect the world’s oceans is celebrated every June 8 calling for a healthy ocean and a healthy climate.

The message is clear: stop fossil fuel extraction, phase out the use of plastics (and more urgently, single-use plastic), support local leaders working to implement action within their communities, protect and restore natural coastal and ocean ecosystems with strongly protected areas covering at least 30 per cent of our lands and waters by 2030 and continue to create more solutions at the local, national and international levels that are based on the best science.

Jane Ellis' work is made up from rubbish collected along the waterways of the Waitemata Harbour. Photo / Alex Burton

The day is a way of galvanising support for programmes that operate all year round from local beach cleaning efforts to lobbying governments and multi-national companies to adopt environmentally friendly policies.

Which all seems well and good, but what can we do on a more local scale?

Henderson says we can all make a difference with a conscious effort.

“In our everyday lives, we typically don’t see what’s happening beneath the water line, but (people) can take steps,” he said.

“I encourage people to take the time to look beneath the surface.”

The turtle mural is on display now at Sea Life Kelly Tarlton’s. The Sea Cleaners Trust are always looking for volunteers to help with coastal cleanups and you can find out more about World Ocean Day at worldoceanday.org