Two divers from Exeter Sub-Aqua Club performed an impromptu clean-up during a pleasure dive at Babbacombe in Devon, and pulled more than 3kg of lost fishing tackle from the water.
Charles and Derek from Exeter BSAC dived at Babbacombe on Saturday 21st March. As it was low tide the divers decided to go in via the Breakwater steps. Charles said:
We started to collect just a few bits of discarded fishing tackle, although it quickly escalated from there. In around 30 minutes we collected nearly 3kg of ghost gear. We only stopped because the visibility was getting a bit difficult as we stirred up the silt.
The two divers reported that this was a tiny fraction of the gear that remains down there, but every lure, hook and bit of line removed is one less piece of trash in the sea.
Some of the fishing tackle which could be reused was given to a local fisherman, with the rest sent for recycling where possible.
On the following day another Exeter member called Nik had to pause her lesson to disentangle a baby lobster that was cocooned in fishing line and would have otherwise starved to death. The need to carry on cleaning up the seabed at Babbacombe continues...
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