By NEIL BAIRD

Introducing Baird Maritime’s CLEAN SEAS SCORE

Having been involved for many years with a number of the more rational and progressive marine environmental organisations I have often thought that there must be ways in which they can project a stronger voice globally.

A discussion in Hong Kong recently with three leading marine environmentalists inspired the idea of rating various bodies of water. The aim will be to praise and inspire the clean ones and name and shame the "sewer seas".

To launch the idea and try to refine it, I've given scores, ranging from 1 to 100 to a number of rivers, ports, bays, seas and oceans that I have looked at recently. I hope that with contributions from readers we'll be able to credit and condemn on a comprehensive global basis.

The CLEAN SEAS SCORE, will, at first at least, be personal and subjective but still as objective as we can make them. They’ll be rather like the wine ratings accorded by the globally popular and very influential Wine Spectator magazine. We hope that our ratings will be similarly influential and will inspire both thought and action.

The rating system will be based on a simple score ranging from 1 to 100. It will be avowedly unscientific. Thorough scientific evaluation is prone to both delay and corruption. Our ratings will be wide open to rational dispute and argument but the final decision on rating will be mine. I will, of course, try to be absolutely fair.

Every year we will offer a Baird Maritime Award to the authority controlling the cleanest stretch of water and another to its counterpart  administering the most improved waterway. We will probably dream up some other award categories in due course, possibly including a wooden spoon!

To get started I list below some bays, ports, seas and waterways that I have visited recently and the scores I have given them:

I’ll be very interested to learn of any comments, disagreements, expansions or improvements you may have. In a few years, I trust, we’ll have a fair, objective and up-to-date rating of all the main seas, straits, bays and waterways on the planet.