WISTA and CARIBMEPA Lead Caribbean Coastal Clean Up

Members of The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), Women in Maritime Association- Caribbean (WiMAC) and the Caribbean Marine Environment Protection Association (CARIBMEPA) met up to clean portions of 7-Milea beach in Grand Cayman last week. 

More than 20 delegates attending WISTA’s International Annual General Meeting and Conference joined NAMEPA and CARIBMEPA Board Members for the early morning clean up, where they collected over 30 pounds of trash including 25 bottle caps, 66 pieces of glass, construction material and 96 cigarette butts – the world’s most common trash item.

Over 250 delegates attended the WISTA Conference last week, hosted by the WISTA Cayman Islands chapter, headed by Sherice Arman of the Maples Law Firm. “Taking advantage of such a large gathering of maritime professionals seemed appropriate for conducting a beach cleanup,” observed Arman. “We incorporated it into the program just as maritime professionals around the world care for the their “home”- the marine environment.” The WISTA meeting was the largest maritime event to occur on Cayman Island.

CARIBMEPA engages with its stakeholders to support beach cleanups and education with the public to raise awareness about marine debris. In Trinidad and Tobago, members of WiMAC held a student forum on World Maritime Day to educate on marine debris. This issue is also currently being examined by the International Maritime Organization under MARPOL Annex V.

CARIBMEPA is currently being incorporated in the Cayman Islands.