(DiverWire) KEY COLONY BEACH, Florida Keys – A Deep Blue Dive Center in Key Colony Beach, Fla., will participate in its 8th annual Underwater Clean Up for Trash Free Seas; Sunday, Sept. 18 with Ocean Conservancy.
A Deep Blue Dive is a part of the 26th Annual International Coastal Cleanup, the world’s largest volunteer effort to help protect our oceans, lakes and rivers. Each year, hundreds of thousands of volunteers from around the world spend a few hours removing trash and debris from beaches, lakes, and rivers keeping track of every piece of trash they find. Ocean Conservancy uses that information to produce an annual snapshot of the problem and marine debris. Over the past 25 years, more than 8.5 million volunteers have removed trash from 145 waterways in 152 countries and locations.
Join A Deep Blue Dive Sunday, Sept. 18, from 8 a.m. to noon at 400 Sadowski Causeway, Key Colony Beach, Fla. Please call 305.743.2421 for additional information and to reserve a space. You must be an advanced open water certified diver. Search the International Coastal Cleanup global map to find additional cleanup sites near you and register to be a part of the next wave of volunteers: http://www.signuptocleanup.org
Did you know? Trash threatens ocean wildlife and ecosystems and undermines tourism and economic activity. Over the last 25 years, Ocean Conservancy beach cleanup volunteers have collected enough cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons to host a picnic for 2 million people. The eight million pounds of trash collected during the 2010 Cleanup would cover about 170 football fields. In Florida, volunteers found 606,766 pounds of trash in 2010.
“The problem of ocean trash is preventable, and keeping our ocean free from trash is one of the easiest ways we can make the ocean more resilient against other threats like climate change,” said Vikki Spruill, President and CEO of Ocean Conservancy. “Data collected by dedicated International Coastal Cleanup volunteers inform solutions to the threat of trash in our ocean. By understanding sources of marine debris, we can work together to solve this problem. And by working together to find solutions, we will take significant steps forward in understanding and preventing ocean trash. Join us, and communities around the world September 18th 2011 to keep our 25 year effort moving forward for Trash Free Seas.”
