The Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar will witness a boat race on Sunday in which fishermen from hamlets in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts will participate to create awareness about keeping the oceans clean.
The race is part of cleaning efforts taken by the Chennai-Tiruvallur District Murpokku Meenavar Sangam and its Ocean Awareness team.
More than 100 FRP boats with long tail outboard motors will race 2.5 km into the sea before doubling back. The flag off will be held at 11 a.m.
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The participating boats should not be longer than 31 feet and have engines of 10 horsepower or less.
Garbage in fishing net
Vinoth, member of the Sangam, said that each time a fisherman casts his net, he brings up a lot of garbage as well. Some estimates show that this could be around 50% of the net’s total capacity.
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“We want the fishermen to bring back the waste to the shore so that it could be disposed of safely,” he said.
Helpful for fish to breed
M. D. Dayalan of the Indian Fishermen Association, who has been helping the Sangam, said that only when the oceans are clean would more fish breed.
“During the monsoon more garbage is washed into the sea through rivers, clogging the estuaries where fish usually breed. We also urge the public to not throw garbage into waterbodies and ensure that they segregate plastic. The government has been supporting us in our endeavour,” he added.
The Sangam has been doing mass clean-up programmes in coastal hamlets as well as in the Kasimedu fishing harbour along with the Police and the Fisheries Departments.