What to do on a sunny morning when the dive shop is quiet, all the chores are done and the temporary management want to go for a dive with a difference? Why not Dive Against Debris? That's what we did at Nautilus Watersports on Monday 18th April and it was a great way to spend the day.

Cliff, Tracey and I did a 65 minute dive off our jetty in Port Vila harbour with the intention of taking some photos, having an explore and bringing back any rubbish we could manage in our small mesh bags. The big stuff would have to wait til next time, but we made note of a tyres and other items we will go for next time.

Being Cliff and Tracy's first time, I briefed them both on what rubbish we would try to collect and how to limit any damage to the ecosystem in the harbour, for example leaving any bottles or cans that may be providing shelter to small or juvenile fish life, or leaving small bits of line or net that cannot be removed without doing more damage than good. I emphasied the importance of removing all plastic where possible, and trying to remove all unsightly metal and glass that could be done so safely, and we were soon under the surface and exploring the site... After a small searcha nd recovery for Tracy's favourite dive knife!

After an hour we had filled our mesh bags so we returned to shore to get dry and have some lunch before weighing and documenting our haul and disposing of it in a responsible way.

All in all a fun and productive dive with over 10kg of plastic and other rubbish removed from the ocean and some interesting critters spotted along the way.

Thanks to Cliff and Tracey for a great Dive Against Debris!