beluga II

Tiny pieces of plastic represent a huge problem for ocean giants

Posted by Willie Mackenzie - 7th March 2018
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A Manta Ray can be seen swimming in plastic waste on Nusa Penida in Indonesia.

Recently humpback whales have been hanging around in the Firth of Forth, the tidal estuary in Scotland near Edinburgh where the river becomes the North Sea. These gentle giants have drawn gaping crowds locally, amazed to see such impressive beasts so close to shore. On the other side of… Read More

Artist Mandy Barker onboard Beluga II

Posted by Marcela Teran - 29th August 2017
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This summer, the Greenpeace Beluga II set sail along Scotland’s coast to investigate and document the impact of plastic pollution in these areas. We felt it was vital that both the wonder of the marine environments we would visit, and the indignation at the plastic… Read More

“Plastic pollution is everywhere. It was on every beach we surveyed.”

Posted by Tisha Brown - 11th July 2017
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Crew from the Beluga II survey a beach called Shell Inlet on the Isle of Lewis in the outer Hebrides.
All rights reserved. Credit: Will Rose / Greenpeace

Below is the transcript of a speech given by John Paterson, a member of Greenpeace Inverness who joined the Beluga expedition on the land team. My name is John Paterson. I am a non-practising Marine Biologist who has always had an interest in the sea and has supported… Read More

What I learnt on board the Beluga

Posted by Louisa Casson - 14th June 2017
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All rights reserved. Credit: Will Rose / Greenpeace

This week hasn’t been a normal “day at the office”. I’ve spent the last few days on board the Beluga II, the Greenpeace boat currently sailing around the Scottish coast to document and investigate the impact of ocean plastic pollution on Scotland’s internationally significant wildlife. While ships are part and… Read More

When Coca-Cola washes its hands of the ocean plastic problem, this is where the problem washes up

Posted by Luke Massey - 12th June 2017
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All rights reserved. Credit: Will Rose/Greenpeace

Last week I was standing over a pile of plastic Coca-Cola bottles, on a remote beach in Mull on the west coast of Scotland. What awful littering, many people will say. Well, when you see this on beach after beach, as I have, you begin to wonder whether the problem… Read More

Are basking sharks eating plastic? We went to find out.

Posted by Luke Massey - 31st May 2017
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Crew on the Beluga II search for basking sharks on the west coast of Scotland
All rights reserved. Credit: Will Rose / Greenpeace

“Basking sharks!” At 5am, these words shatter the silence in the sleeping quarters on the lower deck of the ship. The crew burst into life, wrestling on clothes, cameras, binoculars. Up on the helm, eyes pace back and forth across the expansive blue of Gunna Sound – a known feeding… Read More