Driftwood Spars Brewery in St Agnes has teamed up with marine conservationists Fathoms Free in the fight for a cleaner coastline
At their brewery in the picturesque village of St Agnes on the north Cornwall coast, the Driftwood Spars team are only too aware of how important it is to keep the salty waters around the peninsula sparklingly clear. However, it was while watching Fathoms Free’s incredible work on a BBC Two documentary that its head brewer, Mike Mason, was inspired to reach out to them.
‘As a keen surfer I’m only too aware of the problem of marine litter and had heard about Fathoms Free, but seeing them in action prompted me to find a way of contributing. The scale of the challenge is scary, but the determination of organisations like Fathoms Free is inspiring,’ said Mike.
The brewery has pledged to donate a percentage of all profits from its craft beer range, The Cove, to the charity whose work stretches from retrieving ghost fishing-gear to recovering and recycling plastic debris from the ocean.
Fathoms Free will use the money raised to buy a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) which will enable them to locate underwater ghost gear faster and cheaper, saving divers valuable time for retrievals. It will also fund the charity’s retrieval dives, with profits from every beer bought raising the equivalent of a fully-funded dive.
Fathoms Free project manager Natallia Paliakova said: ‘Apart from helping us locate ghost gear underwater, the ROV will also be capable of recording underwater video which is always great for raising awareness about marine pollution issues.
‘We’re really excited to be partnering with Driftwood Spars Brewery and appreciate the proactive support of Mike and his team in bringing the purchase of an ROV a step closer to reality.’
If sipping a cold one from Driftwood Spars’ The Cove range is going to help support those who actively keep our oceans clean, you can count us in.
