Team of divers remove waste off Muscat coast

Muscat: A team of volunteers were able to extract 1,400kg of waste from the deep sea in Muscat Governorate.
Within two days, the team of 27 divers dived to a depth of up to 20 metres in the Quriyat sea to extract the waste.
“All team members have more than 10 years of experience in diving professionally, so they have decided to harness these capabilities for their wilayat and collaborating for the cleanup of the sea,” said Ali Al Malki, a member of the team with over 16 years of experience in diving.
On the first day, the team dived to a depth of 20 metres and managed to extract 800kg of waste. On the second day, the team extracted 600kg of waste from a sunk ship at a depth of 15 metres.
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Al Malki added, “Most of the waste we find is left behind by fishermen. We found a ship that sank 15 years ago, marine creatures had turned it into a natural habitat to live in, but we also found a lot of waste amid the debris which was affecting the health and safety of these marine animals.” Before starting the cleaning campaign, a member of the team dived to explore the location and depth.
“After exploring the area, we started cleaning the next day, starting from 7 am to 1 pm. The team members were deployed at different sites,” Al Malki said.
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The team is currently in its foundation phase and they face a shortage of some equipment and tools. Al Malki said: “In the coming days, with support, we are trying to develop the capabilities of the team and expand our cleaning campaigns to cover more areas.”
“With the aim of keeping the sea clean, the team will implement a number of campaigns to increase awareness among fishermen of the importance of preserving safety of the marine environment and to avoid dumping of fishing gear into the sea.”