Living on an island brings us Maltese in constant contact with the sea - our beautiful blue Mediterranean. On a calm summer day, for many, nothing could be more serene and relaxing than engaging in some activity with the marine environment, even if it is just sitting on the shore, watching the sun set while eating a delicious piece of hobz biz-zejt.
Unfortunately, at this point in time, the sea is taken too much for granted. While the surface may seem to be as it has always been, beneath the waves, right down to the sea bed, it is a different story.
It is distressing to see, especially around coastal areas, where promenades allow the crowds to approach the shore line, that the sea bed is choked with all sorts of litter and other rubbish - sometimes of large proportions. The distress grows when it is evident that this situation could have been easily avoided by simply disposing of this rubbish safely instead of persisting in this behavior.
Last June the Atlam Subaqua club and the Malta Freediving Club organised an underwater clean up at St. Pauls bay as part of World Ocean day celebrations - and the amount of rubbish collected in just three hours was astounding! The large skip provided was not enough, and due to time and resources constraints, much rubbish had to be left on the sea bed. The clean-up work needs to continue!
To this end, as part of the current National Clean Up Day campaign, the Atlam Sub Aqua Club http://www.atlam.org/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/132565648913/ is organising another clean up at on Saturday 16th September in the harbour area of St Paul's Bay. The meeting place is next to the slipway, at 0900.
Divers and helpers on shore are required. The divers must be certified to CMAS two star / PADI Advanced or equivalent. Cylinders will be available free of charge, thanks to our sponsors Strand Diving Services and Scubatech. Snorkelers and freedivers are also invited to attend. The organisers can be contacted on 9987 2950 / [email protected]. Also on facebook at St Paul's Bay -underwater cleanup https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=st paul's bay - under water cleanup
Let's make it a success!