Driftwood Spars Brewery has donated more than £1,000 to Fathoms Free, a charity which cleans the ocean around the Cornish peninsula.
The Fathoms Free team with some of the waste they have hauled from the sea
The cash has been raised through sales of the brewery’s Cove range of craft beers. A percentage from every can sold is donated to aid the recovery of ghost fishing gear from the Cornish coastline.
Fathoms Free project manager, Natallia Paliakova, said the cash would be put towards the purchase of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) — a highly-manoeuvrable underwater vehicle which will scour the seabed and harbours for abandoned fishing gear and other marine litter.
She said: “The purchase of an ROV will take our clean-up operation to a whole new level and allow us to use our highly skilled diving team in a more efficient and targeted manner. We’ll be able to locate debris much more effectively and use it to search multiple new locations, quicker and cheaper than before.
“Thanks to the camera, we’ll know exactly what to expect before we embark on our recovery dives, making it easier to plan and keep our divers safe. We’re extremely grateful to the brewery for this incredible support.”
Abandoned nets, pots, angling equipment, and other plastic cause severe damage to the marine environment and the death of countless seabirds, seals, dolphins, and other sea life. Recording footage of underwater debris using an ROV helps to raise awareness of the issue.
Mike Mason, head brewer at Driftwood Spar Brewery, is thrilled to be donating the cash to a cause which means so much to the team at the microbrewery and its associated pub, The Driftwood Spars.
He said: “A lot of gear gets washed up here at Trevaunance, especially in the winter when the seas are rough. It’s scary to think how much must be out there in the ocean if the detritus in our little cove is anything to go by.
“The team at Fathoms Free are doing a great job — they deserve all the support we can give them.”
