Basket Shark to raise awareness of sea pollution

A creative project aiming to raise awareness of marine pollution is set to see a 20ft (6.1m) model of a basking shark - made from sustainable materials - taken to a Cornish beach.

The Basket Shark has been made out of items including willow, pallet wood and bamboo in a project led by Falmouth University lecturer Duncan Cameron.

The model has been on display in Falmouth's National Maritime Museum during the half-term break and is set to travel down to Gyllyngvase Beach on Sunday to mark World Ocean Day.

Mr Cameron said the plan was for the shark to stay at the beach during summer so people could fill it up with plastic found on the sand, before it is taken back to the university in the autumn.

He added the year-long project had been set up to highlight the dangers of plastic and marine pollution with a "carbon-neutral but high-impact" design.

The project involved other groups including Plastic Free Mylor, the National Maritime Museum, the Shark Trust and Surfers Against Sewage, who worked alongside Mr Cameron and students to develop the shark.

He added he was delighted with how the project had gone and been able to let "voices be heard" on an important subject.

"It's a creative project, but underneath it all there's this larger conversation about plastic in the sea," Mr Cameron said.

"With all projects, you have an idea and plan and hope to bring people along with you and there have been hundreds of voices in making this shark."

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