This Kerala Fisherman has removed and recycled 3.5 tonnes of plastic from the sea

This Kerala Fisherman has removed and recycled 3.5 tonnes of plastic from the sea
Image source: Google

In the past few years, 30-year-old fisherman, Priyesh K V has caught more plastics than fishes in his net, and it was enough to trigger him to do something about it. Thus, it became his personal mission to free the sea from the curse of plastic!

In just two months, K V has actively removed around 3.5 tonnes of plastic waste from the sea all by himself! That’s not it. He also recycles the collected waste with the help of the Panchayat of his village, Azhiyur.

Priyesh was born in a humble family with limited resources. Since he was 14 years old, Priyesh has been visiting the sea to fish. Even though, he was a disciplined and bright student, due to his family’s financial conditions, he couldn’t continue with his studies after 8th standard.

However, his wish to clear class 10th exams came to fruition when he passed it. When he was preparing for the Class 10 equivalency exams, his teacher asked the class to write an assignment on protection of environment.

“When everyone wrote about keeping house and surroundings clean, I wrote about the need to remove plastic accumulated in the oceans and the seas as that was something I was witnessing personally. After writing it, I thought why I can’t do it and began doing it,” Priyesh told a source.

He was often left disappointed and saddened by the condition of fishes in the sea water. He often found fishes stuck in plastic bags in his net. Moreover, he came to know that there will be more plastic than fishes in seas and oceans by 2050 (as per a report by World Economic Forum).

This was the final straw that led him to do something about it. After two months, he set himself on a sacred mission—to protect the sea from plastic and its effects. During the time, he has single-handedly removed around 3.5 tonnes of plastics from the sea.

“The sea is my home. How would you feel if everyone is trashing your home and there is so much garbage that you can’t breathe? That is perhaps how the creatures in the ocean feel,” he shared his thoughts with a source.

“While most people think that the waste can be found largely along the shores, the reality is that one can find it in the deeper parts of the ocean as well. It’s not just tourists or passengers cruising on ferries; even fishermen are guilty of throwing plastic bottles that they carry with them to the sea,” he added.

The removal of plastic waste from the sea was still not enough for Priyesh, who gained the attention of the village Panchayat for the work he was doing. However, it took a lot of convincing on his part to make the Panchayat believe about the harmful effects of plastic on the sea.

“People usually do not believe me when I tell them about the scale at which the sea has been polluted by plastic. So I went to the Gram Panchayat office with pictures of the plastic I caught in my fishing net. They were very shocked and agreed to help me,” he said.

He has been on this mission since April. His ordinary day goes like this –after finishing his day’s business, he devotes four to five hours to remove plastic from the sea. That’s not it. He also makes sure that the collected plastic material is recycled by the officials of the Panchayat.

“The waste will be taken to the panchayat’s plastic shredding unit, from where the plastic will be taken to a recycling unit,” he tells.

Priyesh, who will be sitting for the equivalency Class 10 examination in December, wants to study about the effects of plastic pollution. He also wishes to teach his children about the same.

The world needs more people like you, Priyesh. Keep working on your mission!