The crew of one of the cleanup boats recently collected 337 kilos of trash on an island in Helgeland, the organization said. Over 150 volunteers from several countries participate annually, and interest is increasing sharply. According to NRK Nordland, Rolf-Ørjan Høgset, leader of In the Same Boat, described the work as essential, warning that without it the coast would deteriorate again within years.
The seafood industry is joining the cleanup after a survey showed that around 80 percent of the waste comes from industrial offshore fishing. Through the new Plastic Free Seafood scheme, fisheries and aquaculture receive help to keep areas clean, while coastal fishermen get free collection of waste they take from the sea. The exact timeline and funding for the scheme have not been disclosed.
If we stop this work, the coast will look just as bad in five to ten years.