No single event contributed to the debris, but the site is a favourite fishing spot for Male' city dwellers.
Voodoo talismans
Cathode Ray television
Bicycle
Fishining lines - entagles fish & coral
Beverage cans - floats or sinks and rusts
Plastic bottles & bags - floats with the currents and collects enmass
Comments and Feedback
One of the things greatly lacking in today's clean-up was net bags to carry the debris in underwater and also lift-bags to assist in lifting the heavier, metal debris. It is sad that although almost 1 ton of marine debris was removed, a number of larger items had to be left because of the lack of lift-bags.
The Fari Faru 2015 event, meaning 'beautiful reef' in Maldivian language, was organised by a group of highly-motivated and enthusiastic youngsters who had formed an NGO called Dhi Youth Moevement. Their anti-debris task force, Project Damage Control, conduct weekly clean-ups around the city of Male' and they are slowly making an impression on the city-dwellers.
Only a few of their group are divers, but all are good swimmers and they carry out shallow-water and land clean-ups. Their enthusiasm and energy got 4 of the major dive schools in male' involved in today's major event. Namely, Faculty of Marine Studies, Dive Desk, Nine Star Dive Centre & Divers Lodge Maldives. It is our wish that our divers and students continue to work together with Dhi Youth Movement to continue cleaning up the local reefs and beaches.
It would be great if there was some way in which Project AWARE could recognise and reward these committed youngsters and assist them in their mission to clean up their local islands.
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