By Darrin S. Joy
Volunteers help pull tons of garbage from Avalon Harbor
Nearly 100 volunteers catalogued more than 2,700 pieces of debris removed from Avalon Harbor by divers. Old tires, boat parts, glass bottles and children’s toys were among the retrieved items, which totaled nearly 1.7 tons, according to Avalon Environmental Services.
Santa Catalina Island’s Avalon Harbor, 22 miles off the Southern California coast, receives upwards of a million tourists each year, according to Avalon’s city website. Kayaking, paddleboarding, parasailing and sunbathing on the beach remain among the most popular activities.
What’s not allowed in the harbor? Scuba diving — with a single exception.
Each year, divers flock to the bay and spend one day removing debris from the harbor during the annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup.
This year marked the 40th cleanup event, with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences’ Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies, the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and the Catalina Conservation Divers co-hosting. Proceeds from the event, which took place Feb. 26, benefited the latter two hosting organizations along with USC Dornsife’s Scientific Diving Program.
For more on these programs visit
https://dornsife.usc.edu/wrigley/scientificdiving/ or https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/3650/40th-annual-avalon-cleanup-wrigley-scientific-diving-program/
