I’m delighted to say I’ve launched my latest book in the Hurrahtum Adventures! series – The Tangled Tuna .
I’ve been working on this during 2020 and it’s a culmination of various things – passion for the oceans, writing, plastic pollution, and care for the environment and how to make it better.
For years, in fact, all my life, I’ve enjoyed using something until it’s broken. And then I’ll fix it. And then when that breaks again, I’ll reuse it for another purpose. And finally when the item has reached its end life – I recycle it.
This ethos is a way of life for me. Using what we have, reducing the need for new things - and therefore reducing the planet’s resources and carbon footprint.
How does this fit with ocean plastic pollution I hear you say?
Since I can remember, I’ve searched beaches for anything that can be made into something else. Some memorable examples include a wooden rudder is now a shelf, and a plastic container is a useful planter.
But after a while, this pollution on our beaches and in our seas was getting overwhelming. A keen surfer, I don’t want to hit a plastic container in the water, or see plastic bottles on the beach when enjoying a day with the family.
So getting more frustrated that rubbish and plastic litter shouldn’t be happening in the 21st century, I’d fill my car boot with as much as I could.
And through reading articles, I discovered there was another ocean plastic polluter, unknown to most – ghost gear. This causes ghost fishing - lost and abandoned fishing gear that remains in the ocean, continuing to catch fish and other animals.
Ghost gear can remain in the oceans for up to 600 years, before breaking down into microplastics. Approximately 640,000 tonnes enter the world’s oceans every year, making up at least 10 per cent of all marine pollution.
With all this knowledge, I thought it would be an ideal Hurrahtum Adventures! for Poppy, and also an inspirational one.
And so I launched the fourth title in the series – The Tangled Tuna, where Poppy rescues tuna caught in a discarded fishing net.
I’m delighted to say too that I’m proudly supporting Ocean Generation with the book - a non-profit organisation that has a mission to stop plastic reaching the oceans within a generation.
Their seminal documentary, ‘A Plastic Ocean’, was praised by Sir David Attenborough as “one of the most important films of our time”.
The production team, led by founder Jo Ruxton, experienced the issue of plastic ocean pollution first-hand, right at the ocean centres.
It ignited mass consumer awareness and was even the reason BBC’s Blue Planet II production included a sequence about plastic in their environmental episode.
To support their efforts, for every The Tangled Tuna sold, I’ll donate 50 per cent profits to the charity.
Hopefully this book will highlight what’s happening in our world’s oceans, and inspire people to do what they can, all in an exciting and adventurous way.
The eBook is vibrantly illustrated and available to purchase worldwide, priced at £4.99 (or country equivalent), via this link: https://t.co/DhNBI2EGM7?amp=1
For further information on Ocean Generation: https://www.oceangeneration.org/