September's Cleanup Dive

On Saturday, September 9^th, 2023, we hosted our monthly cleanup at Point Panic on the south shore of Oahu. We had a great turnout with over 20 volunteers showing up to clean up the dive site as well as the surrounding park. After a quick briefing, divers and freedivers geared up and headed towards the dive site entry point. It was a beautiful day with calm ocean conditions, making entry and exit on the stairs easy.

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While the divers and freedivers worked on removing trash from the ocean, a team, consisting mainly of keiki, removed trash from the water’s edge. It was heartwarming to see these young volunteers caring so much for our land and oceans at such a young age. It seemed to instill hope for our planet’s future in all who visited the beach park during the cleanup. Also, a special thank you to Jethro, one of our long-term volunteers, who always comes through with donuts to fuel us with sugary energy during our events!

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After about an hour, divers started to surface with bags full of trash, items too large and heavy for the bags, and happy spirits just from spending time in the ocean.

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During this one dive, we were able to remove 236 pounds of trash from the ocean floor and reef! The most common items removed included 359 lead weights, 56 glass bottles, 40 aluminum cans, 11 plastic drink bottles, and a lot of fishing line, hooks, and single use plastic fragments.

Nudi Wear volunteers at a Cleanup Dive in Hawaii

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Some other noteworthy items found include a large tire, a reusable water bottle, 4 pairs of sunglasses, 3 diving fins, 2 C-clamps, a shoe, and a lift bag that was accidentally lost at the last cleanup. While we sort the debris and log our findings with PADI Aware, we also search for any ocean life that may have been accidentally removed with the garbage. During this cleanup a couple of crabs were discovered and safely returned to the ocean.

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A group of volunteers decided to go back out for a second dive. They were able to recover an additional 28 glass bottles, 10 pieces of lead weight, and other various items. With their findings, we brought the total to 264 pounds of trash recovered for the day!

We couldn’t have asked for a better day or to have spent it with a more amazing group of people. We hope you can join us for an upcoming cleanup! Our next scheduled event is for Saturday, September 16^th at Waiahole Beach Park on the windward side of Oahu. We are partnering with Aaron’s Dive Shop and Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR) to celebrate World Cleanup Day by cleaning up quite possibly the dirtiest beach on island!