How to ‘be a HERO’? HERO boats symbolise courage and adventure. They empower people to become a Captain for the day and drive their own boat. They also inspire people to make a positive difference in the world and stand up for what they believe in like real champions!
HERO OdySea Boat Tours take you on a thrilling adventure of Dubai’s coastline and although having fun is important to us, protecting the ocean and raising awareness about the importance of marine conservation in Dubai is also part of our mission. We wanted our HERO boats to live up to their names and we used them as part of a harbour clean-up to reduce the litter in the area.
- Did you know that it is now believed that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean?
- 100,000 marine creatures die from plastic entanglement per year – and these are only the ones that were found.
- At least two-thirds of the world’s fish stocks are suffering from plastic ingestion
These are just a few of the many alarming statistics about the negative effects that plastic has on marine life.
As a team, we decided that we need to do our part in helping to protect the ocean. Although it may not be a lot, we are hoping to contribute to the ripple effect of raising awareness about the dangers of single-use plastic and the damage caused by littering in the ocean. We have implemented two sustainable initiatives: regular marina cleanups and swapping plastic bottles for refillable water bottles.
Our first marina clean-up was a success and, surprisingly, also a lot of fun!
We did a two-part cleanup, collecting trash from the land around the marina, as well as using our HERO boats to collect trash floating in the water. Approximately 80% of the trash in oceans come from land-based sources, so we didn’t want to solely focus on the small amount that was visible on the surface of the water.
Unfortunately, there was no shortage of trash both on and off the water. A large portion of the trash was made up of plastic, which comes as no surprise as an estimated 18 billion pounds of plastic enter our oceans every year.
Much of the plastic we collected were bottles, which are often only used once and then thrown away. Plastic bottles, along with other single-use plastics, are some of the easiest to avoid. Items like plastic bags, straws, and bottles can be replaced with reusable options that won’t make their way into our oceans.
Although our marina cleanup only put a small dent in the amount of trash that makes its way into the environment, we’re still proud to have made a small difference. Our team collected over 110 pounds (50kg) of trash in and around the marina. At HERO OdySea, we like to encourage others to do whatever they can, whether it is picking up a piece of trash on the sidewalk, or switching to a reusable water bottle