PADI Divemaster Candidates Conduct Project AWARE Dive Against Debris Survey
Written by PADI Divemaster Candidates Andrew Jenkins, Hayden Michie and Zander Twig.
The Project AWARE Dive Against Debris Survey means being passionate. Being passionate about diving means you should be passionate about the ocean. You should be willing to do your part to protect it, both proactively and reactively.
To ensure that this ethic is understood by future dive professionals, Kim and Bas at Scuba Center Asia ask all their PADI Divemaster candidates to complete a Project AWARE Dive Against Debris Survey as part of the course. The survey is about taking care of your local dive sites, sorting the trash you find and entering the data into Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris Map.
Project AWARE Dive Against Debris Survey
Having not surveyed Nusa Lembongan or surrounding dive sites for trash before, the three of us were looking forward to the dive. We were interested in seeing what the conditions were like at one of the Pontoons, a location with high amounts of tourist traffic and potentially high amounts of rubbish. We were also hopeful of finding lost Go Pros dropped by snorkelling tourists, but unfortunately came up empty handed…
Unfortunately we were not so empty handed when it came to trash, collecting around 14 kilograms that varied in type. The majority was plastic, but we also picked up large rubber mats, paint buckets and brushes, metal poles and hotel rooms keys. After completing this we entered all data into the Project AWARE Dive Against Debris database on myOcean page of Kim at Projectaware.org. A detailed list of different types of rubbish is asked to complete a detailed as possible Dive Against Debris Map.
Project AWARE Dive Against Debris Survey quotes
Having dived around the Nusa Lembongan, Cenigan and Penida area for around 11 weeks during my rescue and dive master courses I have started to pick up on the fact that many dives I have been on I have picked up a piece (or pieces) of rubbish. The high majority of it being plastic. It has made me more conscious about every day choices eg. Straws, plastic bags and using a reusable drink bottle. Being a part of the ‘Dive Against Debris survey’ dive we held at the pontoon dive site located off Nusa Lembongan was a lot of fun and felt like we made a difference. I was surprised at the array of different trash we found and just how much of it we collected! I would definitely like to do it again and it’s something I would aim to implement wherever I was diving.” Zander
“Project AWARE Dive Against Debris survey was the first clean up dive I have taken part of. The amount of rubbish we collected was surprising and there was a wide range of debris we picked up, from dive gear to keys. I enjoyed being a part of this clean up dive and felt like I made a small contribution in cleaning up our ocean. The more people that get involved with these sort of dives, I think a real impact can be made.” Hayden
“Firstly – the dive was great fun. Who would’ve thought collecting rubbish would be? It felt good (and also disappointing) to be able to contribute to the map, however overall the Pontoon site was in a better condition than I was expecting. I did collect the most trash in comparison to Zander and Hayden, so along with never crashing my bike I also won this battle. ” Andrew
You can learn more about Project AWARE Dive Against Debris at projectaware.org or contact Kim and Bas to arrange your personal Project AWARE Dive Against Debris on your next visit to Scuba Center Asia!
