Members' Business — S6M-16920 Kenneth Gibson: Marine Conservation Society Publishes 2024 State of our Beaches Report

That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Marine Conservation Society 2024 report, State of our Beaches, which compiles data gathered through the organisation’s year-round citizen science initiative, Beachwatch; acknowledges that Beachwatch was launched in 1994; believes that it provides one of the most detailed datasets on marine litter across the whole of the UK; applauds the 4,000 volunteers who attended beach cleans across Scotland in 2024, including in the Cunninghame North constituency, which represents a 25% increase in volunteers compared to 2023; notes that they removed over 10,000 kg of litter from Scotland's beaches in 2024, consisting of around 527,000 separate items; expresses concern that, on average, 204 items of litter were found for every 100 metres across Scotland's beaches, which represents a 7.2% increase on 2023 and is higher than the UK-wide average of 170 items per 100 metres; understands that 22,000 wet wipes were found on Scotland's beaches in 2024, and that drinks-related litter was recorded on 95% of surveyed beaches; acknowledges that marine litter not only harms what it sees as Scotland’s beautiful coastline, but can also damage marine habitats; notes the view that reducing marine litter will require not only behavioural changes, but also a range of policy changes, including the introduction of circular economy measures and the phasing-out of single-use plastic items, and further notes calls for the Scottish Government to continue its work alongside key stakeholders to drive down marine litter across Scotland's beaches.