The Queen Mother Sofia in Puerto Andratx, Mallorca

The Queen Mother Sofia in Puerto Andratx on Saturday. | Pere Bergas

Andrew EdeAndratx24/09/2022 15:28
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In Puerto Andratx on Saturday, the Queen Mother Sofia watched the release of two turtles that were rescued in August by the Palma Aquarium Foundation's Marine Fauna Rescue Centre. The turtles were trapped in 'ghost' fishing nets, Xisca Pujol, the head of the centre, explaining that ghost nets are those that are abandoned or lost at sea and that the main reason for turtle rescue is entanglement in these nets.

The Fundación Reina Sofía works closely with Proyecto LIBERA, an initiative started by SEO/BirdLife in alliance with Ecoembes, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes recycling, on raising awareness to keep natural spaces free of waste.

Last Saturday was International Coastal Cleanup Day. In Spain, 6,000 volunteers took part at 289 places. Organisation for this was through the Queen Mother's foundation's association with Proyecto LIBERA.

Miguel Muñoz, the coordinator of the project, highlighted the fact that 6.7 tonnes of waste were collected. The most common items were cigarette butts, drinks cans, straws and plastic cups. "Once more, we must focus on a serious problem for the health of the oceans. Every year eleven million metric tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans. We trust that in November the UN working group will be able to arrive at the first international treaty to stop plastic pollution."