Clean Up Events
Our next clean up is Saturday 25th September from 1.30 till 3.30pm followed by a free cruise from 4.00pm. To book your place please contact Jenny on 01392 382236 or email exeestua@devon.gov.uk
Exe Clean Ups Help to Tackle Damaging Effects of Ghost Fishing
Ghost fishing occurs when fishing gear, such as nets, traps and pots, are lost or intentially abandoned at sea. This lost gear continues to ‘fish’ long after it has been discarded causing marine animals to become entangled and needlessly die. The death toll of nets is perpetuated when predatory species, such as dolphins looking for an easy meal, are attracted to the net to feed on the entangled fish and subsequently become entangled themselves.
The consequenses of baited pots or traps, that are used for catching crabs and lobsters, are simlar. The pots, which are moored on the seabed with a line and float to mark their position on the surface, are easily lost if the line is broken by passing craft or stormy conditions. Fish and crustaceans lured inside the baited pot are trapped and subsequently die. Their bodies, baiting the pot once again, attract other fish and crustaceans to their deaths.
Ghost fishing is a regretable consequence of fishing that when combined with the impacts of litter, over fishing and climate change spell disastor for our marine environment.
At the Exe Estuary Management Partnership we aim to take practical action to protect the wildlife of the estuary. Our 6 monthly clean up events, which are dependent on consciensious local volunteers, collect a high quantity of litter from the Exe including crab pots and fishing nets which may otherwise be left to continue ‘ghost fishing’.
Learn More about the damaging impacts of litter
Exe Estuary Autumn Clean ups
As part of the Marine Conservation Society’s National Beach Watch weekend in September clean up events will be taking place at both the Exmouth Local Nature Reserve and Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve.
Exmouth LNR
We will be celebrating National Beach Watch a week late at the Exmouth site in order to allow for a better low tide window. The event will take place on Saturday 25th September 2010 between 1.30pm and 3.30pm (please note this is a change to the previously advertised date). Volunteers are invited to take part in giving the estuary a much needed clean up. We will be meeting on the Imperial Recreation Ground in Exmouth and heading out on to the sandbanks of the Local Nature Reserve.
We look forward to welcoming back some of our regular volunteers, as well as many new volunteers who would like to give it a try. Families are welcome as are well behaved dogs. Gloves and equipment are provided but please wear wellie boots, waterproofs and bring sun cream (just in case!).
If you would like to attend please book a place (so that we can provide adequate equipment and refreshments)
Tel: 01392 382236
Email: exeestua@devon.gov.uk
Dawlish Warren NNR
On Sunday 19th September between 10am and 2pm volunteers are invited to join Dawlish Warren Rangers in cleaning up the sand dunes and beaches of the Warren.
Families are welcome but please leave dogs at home. Gloves and equipment are provided but please wear sensible footwear, waterproofs and sun cream.
To book your place please contact the Rangers at:
Tel: 01626 863980
Email: Phil.chambers@teignbridge.gov.uk
Free Cruise
As a celebration of all our hard work, all of the volunteers are invited to attend a free cruise, courtesy of Stuart Line Cruises, on Saturday 25th September from 4pm till approximately 5pm. There will be a light buffet available on board and the bar open to treat yourself to a well earned tipple.
We can all make a difference to the future of litter on the Estuary by opting for low packaging alternatives, reusing, recycling and when visiting the Estuary please remember to take your litter home with you or use bins where provided.
Jenny Lockett, Exe Estuary Officer
Tel: 01392 382236
Email: exeestua@devon.gov.uk
Previous Clean Up News and Photos
Spring 2010 Clean up a Huge Success
This springs Exe Estuary Clean Up was a huge success with more than 70 volunteers taking to the sand banks of the Exmouth Local Nature Reserve to clear the litter which harms wildlife, damages habitats and poses a safety risk to those who enjoy using the estuary for activities such as kite surfing and dog walking.
After 2 hours out on the estuary, working in small groups to clear as much litter as possible from as big an area as possible, the group returned to the shore to transfer the litter from the trailer to a waiting skip. After a few minutes the skip was overflowing with tyres, crab pots, fencing, traffic cones, glass, fishing wire and much more.
The Partnership are extremely grateful to Darts Farm who provided a tractor and trailer to help transport the litter back to the shore that was expertly driven by Dave Collingwood who was a fantastic help to all of the volunteers. We would also like to say a massive thank you to Stuart Line Cruises for once again providing the volunteers with a much deserved cruise as a thank you for their hard work. Rather than travelling into the estuary, as with previous events, the cruise travelled along the Jurassic Coast Line to the Kittiwake colony at Orcombe Rocks where the volunteers were treated to a fantastic display of diving Gannets, fishing just meters from the boat.
The spring clean up was our 6th event in the last few years demonstrating the local commitment and pride to the estuary that exists within the Partnership and local communities. Marine litter is a global problem that we can all make a real difference to on a local level. As well as volunteering time to clean up the Exe there are many ways that everybody can help to maintain the health of this globally important environenment, see our Marine litter feature to find out more.
Exe Estuary Autumn 2009 Clean Up A Great Success
This Autumn's Exe Estuary Clean Up was a huge success with 76 volunteers sparing the time to help clear litter from the Exmouth Local Nature Reserve area of the Exe Estuary. The volunteers worked together in small teams to collect items such as tyres, crab pots, and packaging that damages this internationally important estuary.
The clean up was a fantastic event, and it was great to see so many people passionate about their local environment. This is the third clean up of the Exe Estuary that we have ran over the last eighteen months and we are really starting to be able to see the huge difference that we are making to the estuary. This was the first time that we actually felt like we had cleared all of the litter we could get to within the time available, we are definitley starting to see the acumulative effect of our 6 monthly efforts
There was a fantastic atmosphere amongst the volunteers, who are invaluable to the Management Partnership's fight against litter on the estuary, and to have had so many join in this time was outstanding. We are extremely grateful to Exmouth Mussels who yet again volunteered their servcies not only attending the event but also collecting the litter with their boat at high tide saving the volunteers valuable time and effort. We must now keep up the progress by continuing our clean ups and working to minimise the amount of liter entering the estuary by raising awareness of it’s damaging effects.
The scale of the potential danger that some of the litter could pose to people as well as wildlife was a surprise to many of the volunteers who were shocked to see bits of metal sticking out of old, partly buried crab pots and other items. Considering how important this areas is for recreational activites, from dog walking to kite surfing, it is essential that the clean ups continue to remove as much of the litter as possible and for that we need volunteer support.
Led by Jurassic Coast Divers, 25 volunteers took to the water on Saturday morning to clear litter from the pier area of Exmouth. The group found many unusual items such as part of a boat engine and copper piping as well as the usual miles of fishing line, weights, lures, drinks cans, etc. In the past few months they have also found old knives, mobile phones, scissors medals, bullets - in fact, you name it, they've probably found it!!
The dive volunteers then joined the Exmouth LNR volunteers for a free cruise of the estuary, courtesy of Stuart Line Cruises.
Other events included a group led by Devon Wildlife Trust who cleared litter from the Inner Warren and on Sunday a group of volunteers worked with the Dawlish Warren Rangers to clear litter from the foreshore.
As a thank you for their time all of the volunteers were entered in to a free prize draw, which was drawn on Tuesday morning by Councillor Margaret Rogers, portfolio holder for the Environment and chair of the Exe Estuary Management Partnership. The first prize of 2 tickets to the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth was won by Rachel Hopkins, of Ottery St Mary, who helped out with the underwater dive. The second prize of a £50 restaurant voucher was won by Jo Damsell of Exmouth and the third prize of a FGW rail trip was won by Vicky McDonald of Exmouth, both of whom attended the Exmouth LNR clean up. The prizes were kindly donated by South West Water and First Great Western. The event was sponsored by the Environment Agency.
Councillor Margaret Rogers said, “I am extremly pleased to see the clean ups growing in popularity and success. They provide a fantastic opportunity for the local community to make a real difference to the estuary. It is great to see the entusiasm that the clean ups are generating in local communities and with local organisations, which can be seen in the amount of support that was pledged, through sponsorship and the donation of prizes.”
About Our Clean Ups
The Exe Estuary Management Partnership organises clean up events on the Estuary every 6 months. As much of the Estuary is cleaned as possible with groups of volunteers working at Dawlish warren, Exmouth LNR, Exminster Marshes and on the Inner Warren. Within a couple of hours the teams can clean literally tonnes of rubbish from the Estuary and surrounding areas and can make a huge difference to the condition of this fantastic site.
Litter has Detrimental Effects for our Wildlife, Environment and Economy.
Litter is a huge problem for our marine environment. It causes the death of thousands of seabirds every year as they ingest or get tangled up in our litter and choke or strangle.
The presence of litter on the Exe not only devalues the beauty and enjoyment of the Estuary but can impact upon our tourist industry which many local businesses rely on.
We can all make a difference to the future of litter on the Estuary by opting for low packaging alternatives, reusing, recycling and when visiting the Estuary please remember to take your litter home with you or use bins where provided.
General Information
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
Gloves, litter pickers and bags will be provided
Sensible waterproof footwear such as Wellington boots is essential
Waterproof clothing is strongly recommended
We can all make a difference to the future of litter on the Estuary by opting for low packaging alternatives, reusing, recycling and when visiting the Estuary please remember to take your litter home with you or use bins where provided.
Exe Estuary Spring Clean 2008
Our most recent clean up took place on Saturday 3rd May 2008 and was kindly sponsored by the Environment Agency.
At Exmouth more than 40 volunteers worked to clear old crab pots, rope, tyres and even parts of a toilet from the sand banks of the Estuary. Thanks to the help of local shell fisherman Myles Bloodsmyth of Exmouth Mussels the group were able to take large sacks out on to the sand banks to collect the litter in. Myles then collected these bags by boat at high tide
At Dawlish Warren 14 volunteers worked with the Teignbridge District Council Rangers to clear more than 50 bin bags of litter from the Warren. On the Inner Warren the Devon Wildlife trust worked with Devon Wildfowlers and representatives of the golf club to clear more than 60 bags as well as a trailer full of larger items.
At Exminster Marshes the volunteers scoured the footpaths to collect 6 bin bags full of crisp packets and drink cans amongst other items.
Volunteers were treated to a free goody bag of refreshments and there were even prizes for the strangest items found at each site. These went to volunteers who found a rope ladder, umbrellas, parts of a toilet and many other strange and unusual items.