Annual Harbor Clean Up removes thousands of pieces
Hundreds of divers and support crew volunteers pulled nearly 1,400 pounds of debris from Avalon Bay on Saturday. It was the annual Avalon Harbor Cleanup, the one-day divers are allowed in the bay area, but they also scoured the sea floor at Step Beach and Casino Point to try and remove some of the human debris that accumulates in the ocean around Catalina Island throughout the years.
Among the debris, they also found some sea life caught up in the debris. Organizers reported than 100 animals were rescued and released. Around the Green Pier area, 153 divers pulled more than 420 pounds of debris were collected. At Step Beach, 54 divers collected more than 400 pounds of debris and the 75 divers at Casino Point grabbed up more than 540 pounds.
In terms of individual items, the entire project collected nearly 2,200 pieces of trash from the sea floor.
While much of it was trash, some of the items were still viable enough be sent to recycling, however, even stuff that is usually recyclable, can often be partially destroyed by algae and beyond being able to be recycled. This year’s event included volunteers from 21 dive clubs.
Event Organizers:
- Catalina Divers Supply
- Avalon Rotary Club
- USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber
Conservation Leads:
- Bleu World
- Scuba by Design
Marine Debris Volunteers:
- LMU Outdoor Adventure & Recreation Club
- Avalon Interact Club
- Ocean Stories Podcast Crew
Other Volunteers:
- Catalina Divers Supply
- PCH Scuba
- Avalon Rotary Club
- Catalina Scuba
Content:
- PADI
- PADI AWARE
- Pathos Collective
- Cinematic Media Productions
