Whale features in litter campaign

Boat owners are being reminded of the damage rubbish can do

A hard-hitting anti-litter campaign has been launched to clean up Guernsey's shoreline.

A campaign of advertisements showing a dead Minke Whale's stomach filled with plastic bags is to appear in the 2004 Tide Tables booklet.

The advertisement is based on a genuine case where the post-mortem examination of a whale washed up on a beach in France revealed the animal's stomach contained 800 grammes of plastic, including two plastic bags from England.

The island's Litter Forum, which is behind the advertisements, says the campaign is designed to remind beach-goers and boat owners of the damage rubbish can do to marine life.

'Very disturbing'

The caption to the photo featured in the advertisement reads: "Yesterday's litter was today's lunch for this Minke Whale".

The chairman of the forum, Richard Brache, said the campaign emphasises the fact that rubbish can be more than just an eyesore.

He said of the story which inspired the picture: "It is quite a significant amount of plastic and it had basically suffocated the whale.

"If this is what has happened to one whale, then what is happening to everything else that we throw into the sea? It's very disturbing indeed."