TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry, in collaboration with the U.S.` Ocean Conservancy Institution and Bali Administration carried out an international coastal cleanup activity in Bali today.

"The ministry welcomes the cooperation with the Ocean Conservancy Institution to invite various stakeholders to participate in an activity that has a real and direct impact on our coastal and marine environment through the Love of the Ocean Movement," said the ministry's Director of Marine Space Management Brahmantya Satyamurti Poerwadi, Sept. 15.

The maritime affairs ministry, Bali regional government, Ocean Conservancy Institution, NGOs, and a total of 1,287 volunteers gathered at the Padang Galak Beach in Bali and managed to collect as much as 841.53 kilograms of garbage.

The collected waste will then be recorded in the Ocean Conservancy Sea Waste Index, the largest marine waste database in the world.

Read: Bali to Hold Massive Scale Waste Cleanup

Thousands of similar coastal cleanup activities will also be held simultaneously across the world. At least 91 locations across Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke also participated in the so-called simultaneous "Sea Facing" activities.

The activities, initiated by the fisheries ministry along with various civil society organizations and the local government, involved approximately 50,000 participants and managed to collect some 360 tons of marine and coastal waste.

In addition to clearing waste from the coastal areas, they conducted mangrove planting, coral transplantation, and salt harvesting, as well as provided diving goggles to children and released fish and turtle seeds into the sea.

Poerwadi remarked that the handling of marine waste will continue through various activities that can reach more people. "Collaboration with organizations, such as Ocean Conservancy, is helpful for the Indonesian government`s efforts in managing sustainable marine resources, especially in overcoming the problem of plastic waste at sea," he added.

ANTARA