Skip to main content
Menu
Dive Against Debris Data Submission

Stepp Beach: 40th Annual Avalon Harbour Underwater Cleanup

26 February, 2022

Team Leader
Danna Moore/Adrianne Miller
Number of Participants
157
Total Debris Collected
1266 lbs (estimated)

33.345318859797, -118.32664988672

Survey Information

Location Name
Stepp Beach: 40th Annual Avalon Harbour Underwater Cleanup
Organization/Dive Centre
PADI AWARE + Seiko + Wrigley Institute
City
Avalon
Country
United States
Date
26 February, 2022
Survey Duration
90 Minutes
GPS Coordinates
Latitude: 33.345318859797
Longitude: -118.32664988672
Weather Conditions
Calm
Survey Depth Range
5–20 feet
Area Surveyed
54889.7 ft2
Dominant Substrate
sand
Ecosystem
Sand/Harbour
Wave Conditions
Calm (glassy to rippled) for waves 0 – 0.1 meter high
plastic materials collected
Balls 22
Beverage Bottles: Less Than 2 Litres (plastic) 10
Bottles: Bleach/cleaner Bottles 3
Buckets, Drums & Jerrycans-2 Liters Or More 2
Cups, Plates, Forks, Knives, Spoons (plastic) 28
Fishing: Line 2
Fishing: Lures, Rods/poles 19
Pipes (plastic-PVC) 13
Plastic Fragments 237
Strapping Bands (plastic) 10
Rope (plastic/nylon) 14
glass materials collected
Cups & Plates-tableware/dishes (glass & Ceramic) 2
Jars-food (glass) 2
Glass & Ceramic Fragments 30
Beverage Bottles (glass) 117
metal materials collected
Aerosol/spray Cans 1
Appliances: Household 17
Batteries: AA, AAA, C & D, 6V, 9V, Etc. 3
Beverage Cans (aluminium) 49
Cans: Food/juice, Other (tin) 111
Cars & Car Parts 11
Forks, Knives, Spoons (cutlery) 5
Pipes & Rebar 29
Strapping Bands (metal) 4
Wire, Wire Mesh & Barbed Wire 10
Metal Fragments 11
Batteries: Car Or Boat 4
Fishing: Traps & Pots 9
Fishing: Sinkers, Lures, Hooks 15
rubber materials collected
Inner-tubes & Rubber Sheets 11
Rubber Bands 5
Tires/tyres 5
Rubber Fragments 10
wood materials collected
Wood Fragments 13
cloth materials collected
Bags (cloth) 2
Gloves (cloth) 5
Rope And String (cloth) 16
Towels/rags 4
Cloth Fragments 51
paper materials collected
Cardboard: Packaging & Cartons 1
Paper, Cardboard Fragments 2
mixed materials collected
Clothing 1
Computer Equipment & Other Electronic Devices 4
Entangled Animals
Other Fish
Species or Common Name Assorted California Fishes
Number Entangled 6
Status dead
Type of Debris Plastic/entangled
Comments These fish were sadly entangled and thus not able to be released unharmed.
Crustaceans
Species or Common Name crabs
Number Entangled 7
Status released unharmed
Type of Debris harbour plastic/assorted debris
Comments Released unharmed!
Other Animals
Species or Common Name octopus
Number Entangled 2
Status released unharmed
Type of Debris Bottles/plastic
Comments released unharmed while sorting marine debris

This dive site is where many boaters reside, so it makes sense that the types of debris we found were mostly human daily use related, rather than fishing gear.

Plastic Bottles

Cloth Pieces

Misc Waste


This survey was completed in tandem with the 40th Annual Avalon Underwater Harbour Cleanup event, with the help of our partners at Seiko! The tradition started in the 1970s in a community effort to clean the harbor, and this year, USC's Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies–Catalina Conservation Divers are proud to do our part in protecting the health of one of Catalina's coastal treasures by hosting the 40th Annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup.

Want to Receive Monthly Ocean News and Action Alerts?