Visit Isle of Man has announced the official launch of the ‘Big Blue Bag’ initiative, in partnership with TV broadcaster and marine biologist Monty Halls.

The initiative is a hands-on citizen science project designed to empower people of all ages to engage with and safeguard the island’s coastlines and shallow seas.

Monty Halls, best known for his marine conservation work on BBC’s ‘Great Escapes’ and Channel 4’s ‘My Family and the Galapagos’, developed the bag as a simple way for anyone to become a marine scientist and ocean advocate in their own community.

To celebrate the launch, government agency Visit Isle of Man is running a competition inviting people to nominate island residents who are passionate about protecting the marine environment for a chance to win a free bag.

Over the next two weeks, people can submit nominations via an online form to spotlight local ‘ocean heroes’ – people, groups or organisations in the Isle of Man who are actively working to protect and care for the marine environment.

Nine winners will be selected by a judging panel to receive their own ‘Big Blue Bag’, enabling them to enhance their conservation efforts through structured data collection.

Each ‘Big Blue Bag’ contains equipment and step-by-step guidance for conducting simple marine health checks.

Users can then submit data through a dedicated app where citizen scientists will contribute their findings to a global open-access database, helping to inform marine conservation efforts around the world.

The initiative focuses on four main protocols: microplastic pollution (sampling sand and water for microplastics); Sea surface temperature (recording local sea temperatures); coastal debris (tracking and collecting litter and waste along beaches and shorelines); and biodiversity monitoring (observing and recording key species such as seabirds to assess ecosystem health).

Through this competition and wider initiative, Visit Isle of Man hopes to foster greater community involvement in environmental protection, particularly among younger people.

Monty Halls, founder of the initiative, said: ‘The Big Blue Bag is designed to become the largest citizen science initiative on the planet within five years.

‘It empowers anyone, regardless of age, background, location or education, to gather vital data on ocean health.

‘As the first whole nation Biosphere reserve in the world, the Isle of Man is uniquely positioned to lead by example and will become the first island destination to have its coastline monitored by its own people and visitors, working together to protect its extraordinary marine life.’

Deborah Heather, chief executive Visit Isle of Man, added: ‘This initiative exemplifies how tourism can be a force for good.

‘By engaging both the Manx community and visitors, we’re empowering people to actively participate in safeguarding the Isle of Man’s environment.

‘It’s a meaningful way to inspire environmental stewardship while highlighting the island’s commitment to sustainability.’

To nominate an individual or organisation for the chance to win a ‘Big Blue Bag’, head online to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BigBlueBag

The competition opened on Monday, August 4 and will close on Sunday, August 17, with the winners announced the following week.