AS LOCKDOWN conditions ease and more people look forward to getting back onto the water – they’re being asked to back the ‘Love your Harbour’ initiative.

Litter Free Coast and Sea have teamed-up with Natural England to ask boaters to stop treating harbour waters as toilets, and, instead, to think carefully about where they are going to do their business.

Sarah Spurling from Litter Free Coast and Sea said: “We want to thank all those boaters and sailors who show their love for our harbour and use onshore toilets, install a holding tank, use sewage pump out facilities or, if they can’t do any of these, wait to flush at least three nautical miles offshore.

“Discharging untreated sewage from a boat in a harbour is extremely damaging and antisocial.

“It can create all kinds of problems and costs, from water quality to cleaning issues.”

The campaign, focused on harbours across Dorset – including Poole Harbour – also highlights the following:

n Toilet discharge leads to bacterial contamination (E. coli) which affects our bathing waters, and aquaculture such as shellfish production.

n Elevated nutrients can lead to eutrophication effects such as very dense green weed, affecting coastal birds by reducing the availability of shellfish and worms they feed on.

n Smelly rotting seaweed can also affect our enjoyment of the harbour, not for just those on the water, but also for those living nearby

British Sailor Dee Caffari, who is supporting the campaign, said: “As sailors we have a responsibility and a vested interest to protect the oceans from potential negative impacts of boating, we can all do our bit to ensure clean and healthy waters. I am supporting this campaign to love your harbour.”

Litter Free Coast and Sea is an ongoing campaign to reduce the social, economic and environmental impacts of marine and beach litter, and improve and maintain bathing water quality along the Dorset and East Devon coast by preventing litter from getting to our coast in the first place.

It is supported and promoted by more than 500 local organisations and individuals up and down the coast.

Visit https://bit.ly/loveyourharbour to view an animation launching the scheme.