A giant turtle sculpture has been installed in the Cotswolds to raise awareness of the damage ghost nets are causing to marine wildlife.
Named Myrtle, the sculpture has been created by the No Time To Waste Arts Collective.
Coco Banks, Felicity Jones and Annalisa Mandia created the 5 metre x 4.5 metre artwork, which has been given a fresh lick of paint before being put in place at Cotswold Sculpture Park.
The sea turtle is made out of more than 240 recycled tyres. It was commissioned to raise awareness about the ocean plastic crisis and the impact ghost nets and single use plastic are having on marine life.
Its installation in Somerford Keynes coincided with World Turtle Day, which was celebrated on May 23. However, the Collective are now looking for a more permanent home for the artwork and have put it up for sale to raise funds for an environmental charity.
Twenty percent of the sale of the sculpture will go to support Sea Shepherd's Ghostnet campaign.
Every year around 640,000 tonnes of fishing gear are lost or discarded into the oceans. The discarded nets and lines become known as ‘ghost gear’ because of its ability to continue killing wildlife long after the fishing boats have left it behind.
Around the UK this lost and discarded fishing gear is the second largest source of marine debris with over 1,250 kilometres of nets alone being lost in UK waters each year.
Over 150,00 seals and cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are estimated to be killed annually by lost fishing gear along with thousands of sea birds, turtles and sharks.
The Ghostnet campaign utilises experienced, volunteer divers and Sea Shepherd UK’s fast boats to survey UK waters for discarded fishing gear for safe disposal or recycling.
For more details about the campaign go to seashepherd.org.uk/campaigns/operation-ghostnet.html
Anyone interested in buying the sculpture should contact notimetowastearts@gmail.com.
More information about artwork on sale at Cotswold Sculpture Park is available at cotswoldsculpturepark.co.uk
All photos courtesy of Paul Nicholls - paulnichollsphotography.com
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