(DiverWire) An estimated 100 volunteers, made up of scuba diving visitors and island residents alike, combined efforts Saturday, April 9, 2011 in the third consecutive record-setting underwater cleanup of Kralendijk Bay. Their efforts proved that one individual can make a difference, when working together with others for a common good.
The number of participants for each event continues to surpass the previous total, and records continue to fall.
Dive Friends Bonaire and NetTech N.V. are the event sponsors for these quarterly underwater cleanups, as they have been since 1998. Many others also assisted to make the event a success. After registration was complete, a complete briefing was given, providing an explanation of how to recover the trash, as well as what should be recovered and what should be left behind, as it is always of utmost importance that all participants refrain from harming any marine organisms.
WATCH VIDEO FROM THE EVENT:
With volunteers on shore ready to check, sort, and count the trash, the divers and snorkelers entered the water and began their search for debris and trash. With their bags bursting at the seams, those in the water reported back to the shore team, where the trash was processed and then disposed of properly in a large bin which Bonaire’s waste management company, Selibon, had donated for the day.
The dock area that was scoured in this cleanup is popular with visiting yachts and others using the shallow water area for transport to shore, and, due to this, it can accumulate more trash than other areas of the reef, as trash can be easily blown over the side of vessels. The following was removed during this cleanup of Kralendijk Bay:
- 491 Beverage Bottles (glass)
- 172 Cups, Plates Forks, Knives, Spoons
- 112 Building Materials
- 88 Beverage Cans
- 24 Fishing Lines
- 17 Beverage Bottles (plastic)
- 16 Food Wrappers/Containers
- 15 Ropes
- 11 Appliances
- 9 Clothing, Shoes
- 9 Strapping Bands
- 8 Fishing Nets
- 8 Plastic Sheeting/Tarps
- 7 Straws, Stirrers
- 6 Bleach/Cleaner Bottles
- 5 Plastic bags
- 3 Caps or Lids
- 3 Bait Containers/packaging
- 3 Oil/Lube Bottles
- 3 Tires
- 2 Fishing Lures/Lights Sticks
- 2 Cars/Car Parts
- 1 Paper bags
- 1 Pull Tabs
- 1 6-pack Holders
- 1 Toys
- 1 Crates
- 1 Light Bulbs/Tubes
- 1 Batteries
- 1 Floor mat for a car
In the later afternoon, all participants and their families and friends were welcomed back for a Pot Luck BBQ, with food and beverages hosted by Dive Friends Bonaire and NetTech and where quite a party ensued. Before enjoying a great dinner, all participants were eligible for a variety of raffle prizes, consisting of t-shirts and caps and dive accessories. Volunteers were also given special dive log pages for their personal logs.
Images from this cleanup are available online at the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery at http://www.bonaireinsider.com/index.php/gallery_bonaire/category/C85/.
Thanks go to the day sponsors: Bonaire National Marine Park, Deep Blue, Dive Shades, It Rains Fishes Restaurant, Mondrian, Obersi Group, Ouray Sportswear, Reef, Selibon, and the Water Taxi Kontika di Amor.
The next quarterly underwater cleanup is scheduled for Sunday, July 10th, 2011. Registration begins at 9:30 AM at Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine, with the cleanup at the Town Pier beginning at 10:00 AM. Additional information about the cleanups, including sign-up details, is available at: http://www.dive-friends-bonaire.com/clean_up_dives.html. All are welcome to join in.
Dive Friends Bonaire is one of Bonaire’s premier diving facilities with convenient locations in Kralendijk, at Hamlet Bonaire, Dive Inn, and at Port Bonaire and has three retail stores in Kralendijk. For additional information, visit http://www.dive-friends-bonaire.com. Follow them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/?sk=2361831622#!/group.php?gid=22458636435 or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/DiveFriendsBon.
NetTech is Bonaire’s largest Internet marketing company, providing the popular web sites InfoBonaire (http://www.infobonaire.com) The Bonaire Insider (http://www.bonaireinsider.com), Bonaire Surveys (http://www.bonairesurveys.com), and Paradise Rebates (http://www.paradiserebates.com). For additional information, visit http://www.nettechnv.com. Follow InfoBonaire on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/InfoBonaire, follow The Bonaire Insider on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BonaireInsider, or follow all Bonaire news on Twitter at http://twitter.com//BonaireNews.
