Toward Cleaner Beaches: Testing Removal Methods for Marine Debris on a Hiroshima Island
Author: Hashino Yukinori
On November 17, a clean-up activity on Atatajima, an island in Ōtake, Hiroshima Prefecture, targeted marine debris, including 400 large fishing floats, that had washed up on the island’s western Nagaura coastline. The project involved landing craft, specialized vehicles, and plastic compactors, and was intended to act as a model case for such activities on remote coastlines and the tips of peninsulas, where access and transportation are difficult. The activity was part of Setouchi Oceans X, a joint project undertaken by the prefectural governments of Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, and Ehime, in partnership with the Nippon Foundation. As the Seto Inland Sea is enclosed between Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, relatively little debris flows into the sea from other waters, although this still amounts to an estimated 4,500 tons of marine waste each year. People connected to the local fishing industry, Hiroshima Governor Yuzaki Hidehiko, and Nippon Foundation Chairman Sasakawa Yōhei were among the 200 or so participants who collected and transpod debris in the clean-up activity. Setouchi Oceans X has set goals of reducing the new inflow of marine debris by 70% and increasing the rate of collection by 10%. Organizers intend to continue planning models for efficient clean-up activities. The Hiroshima prefectural government has also set a target of reducing marine plastic to zero by 2050.