Treasures of the Sea or Destroyers of the Sea?

submitted by Zejtun St Thomas More Secondary School : Krista Gatt  for 11-14
campaign: YRE Entry
dissemination(s): school magazine,website,other,School monitor in the reception area
Proof of dissemination: Click to view
Dissemination description: Article and photo were placed on a powerpoint presentation and displayed on the school monitor located in the reception area.
sustainable development goal(s): life below water
filed under Photos Reporting photo


As time goes by, harbours require maintenance. One such activity involves the dredging of the seabed (the removal of unwanted sediment).

Unfortunately, a large percentage of the seabed present within commercial harbours ends up accumulating various items. Most of these include material derived from the loading and unloading of cargo such as steel, rubber pipes and lost cargo. Tyres, which are usually used as fenders, also from time to time end up on the seabed.

Sadly, not only visible materials are dredged. The upper layer of the seabed is also contaminated with toxic substances from paint, oil and other chemicals.

The attached photo shows materials mentioned above, which were dredged from the Grand Harbour of Valletta in October 2017. In this particular operation, the total amount of steel collected reached 1.8 tons!