200kg of plastic and fishing gear collected from coastal area in Abu Dhabi


Haneen Dajani
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  • Arabic

More than 200 kilograms of plastic waste and cast-off fishing equipment were found during a clean-up campaign at a popular coastal spot in Abu Dhabi.

Fishing gear, nets and plastic materials were removed from Al Bahrani Island and its surrounding waters by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

Fifteen workers spent a day cleaning the eight-square-kilometre area.


While the agency said there were no hazardous chemicals or waste found at the site, it mentioned the dangers of plastic waste harming marine life.

"Plastics are non-degradable materials that cause long-term impacts to marine wildlife and the environment," the agency said.

“Furthermore, dumping of solid waste and general waste will affect human and wildlife health and safety.”

The cleaning campaign will continue throughout the year and will monitor onshore and offshore fishing grounds in the capital.

The sea-inspection campaigns are part of the agency's efforts to "preserve and protect the marine and coastal environment".

"We urge all fishermen to ensure that their enclosures and the surrounding coastal areas are cleaned of waste at the end of fishing seasons," the agency said. "And that any waste, gears or materials, are disposed of using proper methods in order to preserve public health and our marine environment.

“If any irregularities are detected, legal action will be taken.”

The National recently published a story about a baby camel mistaking a blue plastic bag, dumped in the desert, for food.

While the young camel realised its mistake soon enough, similar mistakes by other animals are often fatal.

Recently, the bones of a camel surrounded by plastic were captured on camera by a member of an off-road driving club.

Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)

  • Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave. 
  • Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
  • Help out around the house.
  • Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
  • Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
  • Offer to strip the bed before you go.
Results
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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.