‘Balloon Fishing’ Challenge
As the California State Water Board knuckles down on copper loads in our waterways, the largest source and most toxic of pollutants seems to have escaped the government’s attention. Researchers have concluded that plastics are now one of the most common pollutants in our ocean waters worldwide. In addition to the long-term harm this non-biodegradable flotsam causes on Santa Monica Bay, we know that hundreds of species mistake plastics for their natural food, ingesting toxicants that cause liver and stomach abnormalities in fish and birds, and often choke them to death.
In 1990, the California State Legislature passed a feeble ‘Balloon Law’ to regulate the use of helium-filled foil balloons (in an effort to reduce the approximately 900 annual statewide power outages due to Mylar balloons). The billion-dollar per year party supply industry lobbied hard against any regulation of this litter, and you can find a plethora of shiny favors for sale daily at Ralph’s, Pavilions, and CVS in the Marina del Rey. The law merely requires merchants to post notices that helium-filled metallized balloons must be properly anchored. Even after this requirement was made law, none of the retail stores in the Marina del Rey appear to find it necessary to post the required signage.
On any given weekend, you can sail Santa Monica Bay and encounter 10 or 20 collapsed Mickey Mouse heads, dancing Minions or ‘Happy Birthday’ greetings adrift on the bay. To combat this plague of indestructible Mylar trash in local waters, the boaters at California Yacht Club have launched a "Balloon Fishing Tournament." Every month in 2017 the Club awarded members presenting the most "dead balloons" a free prime rib dinner for two. The results were fabulous, with the Club’s members capturing over 100 of the plasticized foil killers. The Club is continuing the tournament in 2018 and hopes to surpass last year’s catch.
In an effort to bring this to fellow residents and state leaders’ attention, the California Yacht Club is issuing a challenge to other West Coast yacht clubs and marinas to beat the "100-balloon-per-year" record and help support the precious sea life on the California Coast. For any details of the effort, please contact the CYC Dockmaster, Evan Davis, at (310) 823-4567.
