Dozens of SCUBA divers took part in the Third Annual Southeast Florida Reef Cleanup, in search of trash that has collected on the natural reefs off the Palm Beach County coast. This group of divers, representing Dolphin Sun Dive Charters, displays the garbage they removed from the reef. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Cheryl Blackerby
Boat captain Bill McKissock is still pondering the bikini tops he found.
“You wonder what kind of scenarios that happened in,” he said.
During the third annual Southeast Florida Reef Cleanup Aug. 3, McKissock and a dozen volunteer divers went out on his Dolphin Sun Dive Charters boats, based at Sportsman’s Park in Lantana, to look for trash on South County coral reefs.
And they found plenty: fishing line, cans, bottles, plastic six-pack rings, golf balls and a lot of plastic bags that can be deadly to sea turtles and fish.
Sponsored by the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative, the reef cleanups also took place in Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties. The events are held to remind fishermen, boaters, divers and land dwellers to help in keeping the ocean and reefs clean.
McKissock and his divers were joined by Karen Bohnsack, a researcher with the Department of Environmental Protection Coral Reef Conservation Program and a coral reef management fellow at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
“Throughout all four counties, we had an increase in participation. In Palm Beach County, we got the most participation, close to 70 divers willing to pay to go on dive boats and clean up reefs,” she said. “We hope to keep partnering with local dive charter boats. They know it’s important to keep reefs clean.”
Garbage on the reef, she said, is just one more problem for an already stressed reef system. “Reef debris is one small component to a larger array of impact. And the cleanup is an easy way to get people involved.”
The most devastating debris to sea life, she said, is fishing line, which is ingested by marine animals and can wrap around turtles’ legs, causing amputation. “Fishing line and plastic take a long time to break down. Plastic bags are viewed as food for turtles and other marine life.”
There was plenty of fishing line and other garbage on reefs in all four counties, she said.
“Most of it was pretty standard stuff — bottles and cans, they’re all over the place.
“Golf balls were throughout the region, sunglasses, hats, clothing, and a chair was pulled up,” she said.
McKissock brought up the biggest piece of debris in the South Florida event — a large piece of a fiberglass boat.
“We pulled in about 150 pounds of refuse within a couple of hours,” McKissock said.
On past dives, he said, he’s seen plastic lawn chairs and fishing rods.
Splashdown Divers in Boynton Beach also took out divers on the cleanup. “We found a lot of fishing line on the reef off Briny Breezes,” said owner Lynn Simmons.
She also found a toilet, but didn’t bring it in. “It’s a fish habitat now.”
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