Monday, July 25, 2011

Massive Clean Up Dive Effort Under Kralendijk’s Town Pier

On Sunday morning, July 11, 2011, visitor and resident divers gathered at Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine to volunteer their time for a good cause.  The dive center was soon filled to overflowing and the volunteers kept on arriving.  Over 102 people came to help the marine ecosystem of Bonaire and enjoy a world-famous dive at the same time.

Asko Zuidam of Dive Friends Bonaire addressed the group to explain what trash should be recovered and what should be left behind, as well as how to keep from damaging any marine animals.  Eco-friendly, reusable grocery bags donated by Cultimara were handed out to all volunteers.  Shortly afterward, the divers relocated to the Town Pier for the dive.  They entered the water between the Town Pier and Karel’s Beach Bar, descended, and began to fill their bags with trash. When filled, the bags were brought to the surface to those working as shore support. There, Dive Friends crew and volunteers checked once again to be sure no marine creatures had been inadvertently included, counted, and tallied the trash for statistics, and then disposed of it in the dumpster that was donated by Selibon.

The Town Pier is a working pier, and thus the underwater terrain can accumulate more trash than is normal on the reef.  The statistics of the rubbish collected once again confirmed this to be true.  Items collected include:  901 glass bottles, 1 grocery bag, 19 trash bags, 81 plastic bottles, 49 cups, 1 diaper, 4 fishnets, 26 plates, 6 batteries, 132 beverage cans, 12 shoes, 3 car parts, 14 tires, 8 ropes, 3 books, 11 items of clothing, over 25 lengths of fishing line and much more.  A total of 1,530 items were removed.  That only one grocery bag was recovered shows that the reusable bags being used on Bonaire are having a positive impact on the environment.

In the later afternoon, all volunteers, their families and friends were welcomed back for a Pot Luck BBQ, with food and beverages hosted by Dive Friends Bonaire and NetTech.  Prior to enjoying a great dinner, all participants were eligible for a variety of raffle prizes, consisting of Reef t-shirts, Ouray caps, Deep Blue Gear dive accessories and a grand prize gift certificate for dinner for two at Capriccio Ristorante.  After dinner, everybody was treated to a cruise aboard the Good Return.

The entire program was videoed above and below water by BonPhoto and can be viewed by clicking here.

The next quarterly Dive Friends Bonaire underwater cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, September 17, 2011. All are welcome to join in. Additional information about the cleanups is available by clicking here.  (Source:  Dive Friends Bonaire and NetTech)

Note Update August 8, 2011: Due to a scheduling conflict, the next underwater cleanup will be Saturday, October 22, 2011, and NOT September 17, 2011 as noted above.  (Source:  Dive Friends Bonaire)