The environment ministry has launched a campaign to discourage littering in the sea.

Saving Our Blue, as it has been called, will run through the summer, Environment Minister Jose' Herrera said. 

The campaign is especially targeted against plastic waste, which takes hundreds of years to degrade and harms the ecosystem.

"Throughout this campaign we will be raising awareness on how slight changes to our lifestyles will go a long way to a more sustainable life," the ministry said. 

Dr Herrera said waste was harming the marine environment. People needed to avoid using products which created a lot of waste, such as packaging, and also dispose of such waste carefully.

He praised and thanked voluntary organisations that organise clean-ups but said everyone should do his part in preventing marine litter in the first place.