One of the birds most badly affected is the albatross, a bird for which The Prince developed a close affection whilst in the Royal Navy, when they would fly next to his ship every day. These magnificent birds are being found dead with their stomachs almost full to bursting with plastic litter of all kinds. Two of Britain’s native breeding seabirds, the northern gannet and northern fulmar are equally threatened, as is the UK’s largest marine reptile, the leatherback turtle. At the reception HRH was shown the plastic contents extracted from the stomach of one such turtle that was found washed up dead in Scotland.

Involving people in the fight for ocean recovery has been at the core of MCS success throughout its 25-year journey. But industry also has a key role to play and in recognition of their 25th Anniversary, MCS has established the Oceans 25 Ambassador partnership initiative to recognise, and work with, those businesses that are leading the field in developing sustainable practices in support of clean seas, sustainable fisheries and protection for marine wildlife. Four companies have pledged their support to help MCS achieve its mission, as founding members of the Oceans 25 Ambassador group - Loch Duart, Waitrose, Loch Fyne Oysters and Dragon Feeds.

The MCS Beachwatch event takes place on 20th and 21st September 2008, at hundreds of beaches all around the UK. To take part and help make Britain’s seas and beaches cleaner and safer, go to www.adoptabeach.org.uk

Ends

In 2008, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is celebrating 25 years as the UK charity protecting our precious seas, shores and wildlife. MCS will be running a series of events and initiatives in 2008 to highlight the need for better protection of our seas, celebrate the wildlife they support and give opportunities for people to take an active part - on land or at sea. Log onto http://www.mcsuk.org/jubilee/upload.php MCS is celebrating our relationship with our seas and beaches. 3. MCS Beachwatch is an annual UK-wide beach litter survey and clean up, organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) since 1993. Volunteers remove all the litter from a measured area of their local beach, recording every item that they find. The data gathered from Beachwatch every September is published by MCS and used at a national level to raise awareness of the impacts of litter and to promote measures to reduce litter at source . The results and report from Beachwatch 2007 can be downloaded at

4. Levels of plastic rubbish on UK beaches have increased over the 15 years that MCS has organised annual Beachwatch surveys. The MCS Beachwatch 2007 survey involved over 3,900 volunteers clearing over 350 beaches and showed that plastic litter on our beaches has increased by a staggering 126% since the annual survey began in 1994. Plastic debris now accounts for over 58% of all litter found on UK beaches, including plastic bags and plastic drinks bottles.

5. Many scientific studies are reporting high levels of litter, and plastic in particular, being ingested by marine animals. A large amount of plastic was taken from the gut of a female leatherback turtle that stranded dead at Wigton Bay, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland on 02.12.98. The plastic was obstructing the turtle's alimentary canal and the blockage was considered to have contributed to the animal's death. The debris included: 1 white plastic bag, 1 black plastic bin liner, 3 transparent plastic bags, 1 green plastic bag, 1 piece of soft blue plastic, 1 transparent, soft-plastic dairy sauce and 1 transparent plastic chicken meat bag.

6. Seabirds may confuse small plastic pellets with fish eggs and plankton and may even feed plastics to their chicks. Those birds most susceptible to ingestion of plastic particles are surface-feeders and plankton-feeders. Plastic may remain in a seabird’s stomach for up to two years. The occurrence of brightly coloured plastic waste amongst the bones and feathers of carcasses suggests that hundreds or thousands of birds are ingesting large quantities of plastic, which may contribute to their deaths.