Ocean Companies Joins Twin Harbor State Park for Community Beach Cleanup Party
All are invited to volunteer beach cleanup party and BBQ on July 10, 8am – 11am
WESTPORT, WASH – June 28, 2010 – The beach areas of the South Beach area between Westport and North Cove are a beautiful natural resource that attract visitors from all corners of the state and beyond. While the region enjoys the tourist activity, one of the negative impacts is an increase in beach debris. The Ocean Companies, including seafood processor Ocean Gold Seafoods, the cold storage at Ocean Cold, the trucking division of Ocean Express and the fishmeal plant at Ocean Protein, are joining with the Washington State Parks through Washington CoastSavers to host a beach cleanup party on July 10 from 8:00 am – 11:00 am.
“Keeping our oceans clean is a part of our company mission,” explained Dennis Rydman, president of Ocean Gold Seafoods. “Maintaining a clean beach is a good step toward achieving that goal because it’s more than just our livelihood at stake with this resource. Our way of life as generational participants in the seafood industry depend upon responsible stewardship of the seas.”
The beach clean up is being organized not just as a one-time-event, but as an opportunity to build partnerships for ongoing educational and community outreach. In addition to supplying tools needed for the cleanup, such as bags and gloves, the group is introducing a party atmosphere with a BBQ and entertainment to entice larger participation and encourage people to learn about small things they can do to limit the amount of trash that ends up on the beach. Everything from basic recycling rules to demonstrating ways to limit use of plastics, makes a difference.
“We are pleased to have a partner like the Ocean Companies for this cleanup,” added Brad Staab, ranger of the Seashore Conservation Area. “It’s when diverse community interests come together that we are able to make the biggest impact reaching the most people with information that will hopefully make beach cleanups such as these less necessary in the future.”
The Ocean Companies is leading the industry in building new efforts in sustainability. The introduction of the Ocean Protein fishmeal plant allows the group to fully utilize the resource, turning “trash to treasure” for markets that range from aquaculture to organic fertilizers. The company’s waste water treatment is the only one in the industry to meet the Clean Water Act standards. And in addition to beach cleanups, the company is experimenting with tools it can use to limit it’s own fleet’s gear waste at sea and is in talks with NOAA to introduce a “Fisherman in the Classroom” component to existing ecological educational outreach at local schools.
David Lindau, program coordinator with CoastSavers added, “If we are to enjoy a real ‘sea change’ in terms of the health of our marine environment, it is critical that seafood industry partners such as the Ocean Companies step up to the table. We are thrilled to work with them and to provide educational and scientific support for their growing sustainability efforts.”
To sign up for the July 10 Beach Cleanup at Twin Harbors State Park, visit www.coastsavers.org/july10 or www.keepgraysharborfishing.com.
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Ocean Companies
The Ocean family of companies includes Ocean Gold Seafoods, Ocean Cold, Ocean Protein and Ocean Express. Together these four companies represent one of the larger employers in the county during the fishing season as the largest seafood processing facility in the state and the fifth largest in the nation. Committed to strong communities, good jobs and clean oceans, the Ocean Companies work tirelessly to Keep Grays Harbor Fishing. For more information, visit www.keepgraysharborfishing.com.
