On Saturday, July 12, 2008, a group of over 40 divers, snorkelers, and shore support gathered together to assist with an underwater cleanup of Bonaire’s South Pier, also known as the Customs Pier.   This particular location had not been included in past cleanups, and, being a commercial pier, it proved to be much in need of a cleansing.

After a comprehensive briefing by Jake Richter of NetTech who explained what trash should be recovered and what should be left behind, the divers entered the water and swam the short surface distance to the pier.  They then descended and began to fill their bags with trash, after which the bags were brought to those working shore support.  Once on shore, Dive Friends crew and volunteers checked once again to be sure no marine creatures had been inadvertently included, counted and tallied the trash for statistics, and then disposed of it responsibly.

In just one dive, this group managed to recover the following trash in two hours: 13 pieces of rubber, 85 beer bottles, 55 pieces of plastic, 49 pieces of metal or metal cans, 34 pieces of monofilament fishing line, 19 pieces of clothing, 6 pieces of wood, 3 shoes, 4 flip-flops, 4 lengths of pipe, 5 pieces of cardboard, 1 packet of ketchup, 4 pair of underwear, 9 lengths of rope, 1 motor, 2 lengths of iron chain, 1 fishing net, 2 knives, and even a car battery and a fishing rod.

Personnel from the office of Bonaire’s Harbourmaster signaled their incredulity at the amount and type of trash which was recovered and requested that the South Pier be cleaned again in the future.
 
After the dive, all participants and their families were welcomed back for a Pot Luck BBQ—Dive Friends Bonaire and NetTech, the sponsors of the quarterly Bonaire cleanups, provided drinks and main courses, while participants supplied side dishes.

Images from this cleanup are available online at the Bonaire Insider Photo Gallery at http://www.bonaireinsider.com/index.php/gallery_bonaire/category/C54/.

The next quarterly underwater cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, September 20, 2008 in conjunction with World Cleanup Day and Bonaire’s Love our Planet Week.  This next cleanup will mark ten years of consecutive quarterly underwater cleanups on the island of Bonaire.  Additional information about the cleanups is available at: http://www.dive-friends-bonaire.com/clean_up_dives.html.  All are welcome to join in.