TWICE a year volunteers gather at Nelson Bay don gloves, grab garbage bags and scour the break walls for rubbish that would otherwise end up in the Bay.

Still more volunteers pull on their wetsuits, and fill up their air tanks and dive into the marina precinct bringing all sorts of waste to the surface.

In May this team of Sea Shelter volunteers and helpers met at the D’Albora Marina in Nelson Bay to tackle the rubbish that has built up in the area both above ground and below the water.

Lia Pereira of Sea Shelter told News Of The Area, “Together they collected 2443 individual pieces of rubbish and over 9km of fishing line!”

The clean up is a huge event which would not be possible without collaboration between divers, Sea Shelter and Local businesses.

“With assistance and support from Banks Marine, Let’s Go Adventures and Feet First Dive, the underwater team found a bucket load of rubbish including discarded fishing gear, food and beverage containers, and even plastic chairs!”

“The helpers on land found even more fishing waste, bait bags, cigarette butts and drink bottles galore.”

The Sea Shelter team hope to use this experience to remind fisher men and women to take their rubbish with them when they finish, and to remind everyone, both locals and visitors to keep our marina clean.

“It’s now a fact that our oceans are filled with more plastic than marine animals, and Australians have found to be the world’s biggest consumers of single-use plastic so it’s more important than ever to dispose of waste responsibly.”

While Plastic Free Port Stephens have plans in place to install a Seabin within the Nelson Bay marina precinct nothing will work as well as everyone working to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.

 

By Marian SAMPSON