Through the Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys program, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation recently reported that 100,000 pounds of marine debris had been removed from NOAA’s Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, marking a significant milestone.
For comparison, that is more than the combined weight of fifty concrete buoys at Key West’s Southernmost Point, three full-sized school buses, and two humpback whales.
In order to eliminate marine trash from the Keys’ waters and to inform and involve the public about its role in marine debris prevention, the sanctuary, the foundation, and local diving operators formed Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys in 2018.
Goal: Our collaboration with Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Clean Seas, is fantastic. “I am extremely proud of the Blue Star Dive Operators and the professional and recreational divers for achieving this significant accomplishment,” said Cortney Benson, the foundation’s coordinator for marine debris removal stewardship. This work has a significant impact on the Keys’ recreation industry, which depends on healthy sanctuary ecosystems, as well as the reefs and underwater biodiversity.
The Keys community came up with the concept for Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys, and under their direction, the program has grown, according to Marlies Tumolo, the sanctuary’s team lead for outreach and education.
The efforts of our partners, Blue Star Diving Operators, and the individual divers who have significantly impacted conservation in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary make me extremely proud.
The objectives of Clean Seas Florida Keys are to: Identify debris hotspots; remove, dispose of, or recycle underwater debris; report and analyze post-removal data; and educate the public about marine debris awareness and prevention. Clean Seas Florida Keys collaborates with sanctuary-recognized Blue Star Diving Operators to educate both professional and recreational divers on best practices for removing marine debris from protected waters.
Nearly 8,000 recreational divers have participated in more than 1,500 Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys dives over the last six years, which have been funded by the foundation and approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. These dives have been completed by 18 participating dive shops.
One of the biggest problems the seas face is marine garbage. In addition to endangering marine life and delicate habitats, marine debris can present safety and navigational problems for fishing, tourism, and recreation. It can also endanger animals via entanglement or ingestion.
Fishing line, cloth rope, fishing sinkers, lures, hooks, pieces of wood or trap, plastic and nylon rope, abandoned fishing traps, fishing rods and poles, aluminum beverage cans, wire mesh, and metal trap fragments are among the most frequently removed waste items.
Amoray Dive Center, Captain’s Corner Dive Center, Captain Hooks, Conch Republic Divers, The Dive Shop at Ocean Reef, DiveN2Life, Finz Dive Center, Florida Keys Dive Center, Forever Young Charter Company, Horizon Divers, Islamorada Dive Center, Island Ventures, Rainbow Reef Dive Center, Sail Fish Scuba, Sea Base (Boy Scouts of America), Sea Dwellers Dive Center, Silent World Dive Center, and Southpoint Divers are among the Blue Star Diving Operators that have taken part in the Goal: Clean Seas Florida Keys program.
All completed removal work was carried out within the refuge with permission from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the sanctuary itself.
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