Dive Against Debris with Sea Experience

Overview

On Saturday, May 18, 2024, The International SeaKeepers Society collaborated with Sea Experience for our May dive cleanup. Sea Experience is a dive shop located in Fort Lauderdale that is awarded the PADI Green Star to commemorate their efforts and dedication to conservation and identify them as a dive shop that cares about our coastal environment and actively takes steps to protect it. We were joined by 9 divers who descended with mesh bags to collect any trash they found while underwater to bring back to the surface and dispose of properly. We used our first tank at Hog Heaven, the wreck of a 180-foot barge about 60-70 feet deep, intentionally sunk in 1986 as part of the Florida Artificial Reef Program. As always, we found tons of cargo straps at this site and quickly filled our bags with these lightweight pieces of debris. After emptying our bags onboard, we descended to use our second tank at The Caves, a shallower reef site ranging in depth from 20-30 feet, named for its small caves. At this site, we removed a bunch of fishing line and some aluminum cans, using caution to not damage any part of the reef while doing so. While keeping our eyes out for trash, we were lucky enough to see a Nurse shark! We also kept our eyes out for signs of coral bleaching, disease, or predation by fireworms so we could report the health of the reefs using our FDEP BleachWatch training. We are grateful to Sea Experience and to all the divers who helped us in removing 15 pounds of debris directly from our ocean. We look forward to our June dive cleanup with Sea Experience, and hope to see you there.