A new Blue Flag scheme for boat owners was launched in Scotland on Saturday 2 October 2004. The move follows the success of the international Blue Flag Campaign, which awards the coveted Blue Flag to Britain’s cleanest beaches and marinas.

Scotland is the first country in the UK to launch the new Individual Blue Flag scheme, which aims to encourage private boat owners to contribute to a cleaner North Sea. The launch took place at the Carl Dyson Regatta near Edinburgh.

The campaign will be run by Keep Scotland Beautiful as part of the EU Interreg IIIB funded Save the North Sea project. By mid 2005, campaign organisers hope that 50 countries worldwide will have signed up to this scheme.

The scheme encourages boat owners to sign an environmental code of conduct which includes pledges such as not throwing litter into the sea, not releasing poisonous or toxic waste and protecting marine animals and plants.

David Griffiths, the first boat owner in the UK to sign up to the scheme, said: "I heard about the Individual Blue Flag whilst researching the problem of litter in the North Sea for my MSc studies. So much rubbish is produced on boats and the blue flags will allow boat owners to feel involved and serve as a constant reminder of our environmental responsibility."

Campaign coordinator Suzanne Roberts, said: "The Individual Blue Flag Campaign is intended to combat marine litter in the North Sea and raise awareness of the extensive problem by working closely with boat owners to help change attitudes and behaviour. By signing up to the scheme, private boat owners are showing a genuine commitment to protecting marine environment in harbours and on beaches in the North Sea."

The Individual Blue Flag Scheme forms part of the Save the North Sea project, which was also responsible for the successful ‘Fishing for Litter’ Campaign, and a study of North Sea fulmars, which found that 96 per cent had plastic in their stomachs.

• Individual Blue Flag Scheme