Flying the banner of Project AWARE Dive against Debris once again, the staff and students of Nottingham Trent University embarked on another trip to Mauritius during March and April of this year.

The ongoing work of Mr Graham Shelbourne and Dr Nicholas Ray through the use of both terrestrial and marine transects around the area of Blue Bay in Mauritius has seen a great impact in the efforts of the locals in the area over the last few years. The implementation of regular patrols by the Beach Authority in Blue Bay to collect marine debris has enabled the local community to keep abreast of the ongoing plastic pollution issues in the area. The Mauritian NGO Eco-Sud under ‘the Lagon Bleu project’ has been advertising for assistance in the regular clean-ups of all the beach areas around Blue Bay and the mangrove areas around Point D’Esny.

The marine research work carried out over the two weeks by Nottingham Trent University with the assistance of the divers at Coral Diving Centre (La Preskil) was once again a great success and special thanks go to Mukesh Buldewa (PADI Course Director) and Christophe Bauluck (PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer). As in previous years the debris collected from both terrestrial and marine areas were then taken back to base to be identified and recorded. The different types of plastics added another successful year in data collection and understanding of what is causing the damaging effects to our ecosystems.

This year, however the planned Dive Against Debris survey was perceived to be an easier job than in previous years due to the work of the Beach Authority and their regular patrols. Easier in the sense that less debris was found and more volunteers came on board to help with the clean-up and data collection.

Nottingham Trent University worked in conjunction with Lagon Bleu and the Mauritius Underwater Group (MUG) and this year took an even greater ‘dive’ deeper into the debris clean-up with the volunteers from Mauritius Underwater Group armed with cylinders and dive kit. This enabled both members of the Mauritius Underwater Group and dive qualified members of Nottingham Trent University (Dr Nicholas Ray and Joseph Heard) to explore the deeper aquatic regions of the Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Blue Bay and salvage waste that had never been able to be salvaged in previous clean up attempts.

In total 30 people participated in the Dive Against Debris and over 80% of the debris collected was of plastic origins. A grand total of 241.10 kg of waste was collected in bin liners and collected by the local refuse van especially contacted to come and deal with the collection, but a grand total in the region of 400kg was obtained from the various bits of marine litter and jetsam too big for the disposable mesh bags. It was great to see such diverse groups of people (a University, a dive club and a non-Government organisation) coming together with one clear idea and one shared goal of cleaning up this planet ‘one dive at a time’ It was great to be part of a BSAC affiliated club working alongside many PADI qualified divers and Project AWARE supporters and contributors.

In recent talks with local fishermen Graham Shelbourne found that the fishermen were reporting evidence of plastic in fish stomach, which ultimately is ending up in the human food chain. Although this is a well-researched topic across the world, to the local community in Mauritius a new environmental issue that has arisen with what is seen as having grave consequences and impacts on their way of life. Let’s hope it is not too late and the continued support of the local community and various other organisations will strengthen the understanding of the threat of marine debris in our world.