The first weeks of 2022 in Hawaii started with large storms, abnormal amounts of rain, 40-foot waves on the North Shore, and even a Tsunami warning the morning of our event. Fortunately, we were still able to host our first cleanup dive of the year this past weekend as scheduled. Saturday morning ended up being a beautiful sunny day. Surface conditions were flat making the entry from the stairs to our dive site a breeze.
Once underwater, it was evident the recent storms and flooding had created very limited visibility with unexpected currents and surges. Even our experienced volunteer divers struggled with the challenge of staying within view of their buddies while removing debris. We had 2 volunteers on the surface keeping an eye out for safety and supporting the divers getting in and out of the water with gear and mesh trash removal bags.
Poor visibility and dive conditions may have limited the amount of rubbish we removed this time, but we still were able to safely collect, remove, and properly dispose of or recycle 64 pounds of garbage! The biggest problem items removed during this dive were fishing line and single use plastic waste.
