Huge thank you to all of the volunteers who got involved in our latest Dive Against Debris event.

Community action is key to solving issues that affect our paradise island, on June the 11th 2015, a few dive schools around the island of Koh Tao mobilized to combat debris. In honour of Koh Tao festival the spirit of Koh Tao's community came together to combine land and underwater clean-ups to tackle the issue of debris. It was great to see so many volunteers from different organisations keen to get involved.

Divers from Ban's Diving Resort and Sunshine Divers participated in a Dive Against Debris event at Hin Wong Bay on the east coast of Koh Tao. Eighteen divers took to the water and removed around fifty eight kilograms of debris from the picturesque dive site. Plastic bottles dominated the collected items, totalling a staggering seventy three bottles removed within a fifty eight minute dive. In addition to the bottles we also found food packaging, fishing lines and nets, toys, clothes and light bulbs. Identifying the types of debris found helps us create targeted initiatives to stop the problems at their source.

It is always fantastic to see divers so enthusiastic to get involved and work together to tackle the issue of marine debris. Instructors, divemaster, divemaster candidates, open water and advanced open water divers and the boat crew joined the team to dive into action against marine debris. The most interesting items found included a wallet, a water pistol and a ball. The immediate benefit of diving against debris is very encouraging for the volunteers, each and every one of them made this event special and I know that they will all go on to spread the message and continue being active volunteers against the issue of marine debris.

If you would like to get involved in Dive Against Debris or any other eco events like the B.E.A.C.H. page (www.facebook.com/beachatbans) and come and join the team.

Educate → Protect → Conserve