PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer Eric Wong and the Association of Auto Batteries and Tyres Industry took part in one of our Dive Against Debris events at Bluff Island, Sai Kung, Hong Kong in early September. Even with low visibility, the team removed a remarkable 10 bags/ 80 kilograms of debris from the seashore and the water.

“The beach was quite clean, but not the seabed,” said Wong. “The majority of debris was picked up from underwater, which included plastic bags and bottles, glass bottles, scrapped fish traps, glass fragments and gloves.”

“International (Elite) Divers Training Centre PADI Course Director Rommy Cheung supported the dive which was attended by legislative councilor Mr. Chung Kai Sin and his wife Yvonne. Both Mr. Sin and Mrs. Sin also joined us to dive and picked up bags of debris.”

Thirty-eight members of Blue Ocean Club set out for Port Island in northeastern Hong Kong for a special double underwater conservation event: the Hong Kong Reef Check combined with a Project AWARE Dive Against Debris.

Port Island, a site of special scientific interest, is also one of Hong Kong’s finest dive sites, with large coral communities and diverse marine life. In its tenth year, the Blue Ocean Club Reef Check event is well established, and by including a Dive Against Debris on the same day, local divers have more opportunities to actively participate in ocean protection.

After a detailed briefing on safety and procedures, divers were split into two groups for the first dives: reef surveyors and trash collectors. For the second dive, the groups switched roles, giving all participants a chance to practise different marine conservation skills. Back on board in the afternoon, volunteers weighed and sorted the collected rubbish, recording the types of debris that affect local waters.

A big thanks goes out to all the Dive Against Debris activists in Hong Kong during this Debris Month of Action. For more information visit www.projectaware.org