It’s been nearly a month since Race for Water left Lorient, France. Our average speed is four or five miles an hour, which is ideal for catching fish. The crew set up two lines that we pull behind the boat; and because we’re a high-tech operation, we even installed a fish alarm that goes off when we get a bite. But after more than 20 days at sea, we had caught absolutely nothing…the hooks were bare. We started wondering if there were still any fish left in the Atlantic, or whether we were using the wrong kind of bait.
A dorado, and something unexpected
Then last night (Friday, May 5), the port line started twitching. Captain Pascal Morizot hauled it in, and on the hook was a dorado, also known as a mahi-mahi. Finally, our first fish since leaving Lorient! Pascal lived in French Polynesia for years, so he’s an expert at cleaning fish. He got right to work. And what do you know…there was a piece of plastic in the dorado’s stomach. Here we are in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, and the first fish we’ve caught in 20 days has plastic inside it!
Captain Pascal Morizot with the dorado
During our short stopover in Madeira, we met a biologist who told us that even though swordfish are caught at depths of up to 2,600 feet, more than half of them have plastic in their stomachs. I haven’t been out here since our 2015 expedition, but all of a sudden, I remembered all of the stories we heard from fishermen, and how worried and helpless they felt about the scourge of plastics in the ocean.
The plastic: white and straw-like, about three inches long. The crew kept it, to send to our scientific teams.
As plastics continue to pollute our oceans, some of the Race for Water Foundation’s on-shore teams are aggressively looking for financial partners to support our programs. But because plastics pollution in the oceans is a touchy issue, many big businesses would rather ignore it.
Keeping hope alive
I think that this mahi-mahi sends an important message: that the Race for Water Foundation absolutely must stay on course and keep fighting for the oceans. We must find solutions and keep up hope for the next generation.
But at the same time, we can’t fight alone. We need significant financial support from the public in order to follow through with our mission. Please pass the word on, like a message in a bottle!
Marco, President, Race for Water