I received notice calling for volunteers to participate in International Cleanup Day as part of Project AWARE (Aquatic World Awareness, Responsibility and Education).It was decided to dive Breckenridge Channel along the break wall from the harbour entrance to just beyond the Forster Tuncurry Bridge in groups of four. Each group would enter in a different area to enable the cleanup to be widespread. The maximum time in the water would be 45 minutes and there would be a barbecue/picnic afterwards. I put down my husband Arthur’s name as a shore helper to collect the bags and to advise anyone fishing along the wall there were divers in the water.
There was a briefing at the marina before we geared up for both divers and shore helpers. I wore gloves, carried my rubbish bag and an empty plastic milk bottle for collection of sharp objects and for winding fishing line around. My buddy Isabelle had the same and also towed along a dive flag to float above us. Arthur was to walk along the break wall following the flag, collect the bags and hand over new ones. He also carried a whistle in case of an emergency to tell the divers to leave the water and I gave him my camera to record the event.
I took a giant stride off the jetty closely followed by Isabelle. We snorkelled around to the edge of the channel to duck dive down to a depth of 2.6 metres. We soon realised we were both under weighted so with two rocks in my bag I began my task. The area was surprisingly clear of debris due to the swift tidal movement out through the channel. I did however find bottle caps, a fair amount of fishing line, sinkers and a jazz CD. I imagined someone on a boat not liking the music and hurling it over the side.
We had to keep to the sides of the channel due to boats motoring overhead so oyster shells and buoyancy was always an issue. We surfaced now and again to give Arthur a report and to see how far we had travelled.
Isabelle was not managing the dive flag well with all our other stuff in the shallow water so gave the flag to Arthur and we simply snorkelled. Along the way I noticed the fish life and some areas were quite pretty with small fish, coloured rocks and sunlight filtering through. I spotted numerous fortescues, which made me remember my dives at Shiprock.
Isabelle and I met up with the next group who were on their way back and as our allotted time was up we clamoured up the edge back to the meeting point. I did not mind the walk back as I gave Arthur most of my stuff to carry. So good to have ground support! We dropped our collection on the pile and noticed a bicycle and a tyre amongst the debris. There was also a Slim Dusty CD so some boatie really had a tantrum.
At the end of the day everyone was presented with a Certificate of Recognition, “In appreciation for your contribution to the aquatic environment”.
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