BSACKOREA
‘ I am a diver ’
Kristina Pedder reports on BSAC Korea ’ s latest push to promote what they are calling “ ocean ownership ”
Gold , Seung-jip Kim
On a warm weekend late last year , BSAC Korea held its traditional endof-year diving event . Divers from all over South Korea congregated in the town of Seogwipo on Jeju Island . As BSAC prepares to celebrate 70 years , BSAC Korea marks nearly 30 ; and the community had much to celebrate , including a return to near normality following Coronavirus .
A total of 150 divers participated in a two-dive day focused on the local marine environment . Underwater litter picking was the aim of the day ; to publicise BSAC Korea ’ s ‘ I am a Diver ’ campaign . This was set up in 2018 to take the lead in the field of marine conservation , raise awareness of marine environmental pollution and instil a sense of “ ocean ownership ” in divers .
Local dive boats took waves of divers from the harbour to nearby sites in the morning . There was a bit of friendly rivalry as teams from BSAC centres across Korea got to work , and the local Jeju BSAC centres provided cylinders for all the visitors . After a tasty outdoor lunch of gimbap and eomok fishcakes in broth , seamlessly served to all 150 participants , there was a second wave
of diving from the shore nearby .
There was plenty of smaller items of ghost gear to retrieve , including ropes , nets , pots and plastics . The waters of Jeju host a mix of temperate and warm water species . The concrete tripod structures that form the local harbour walls seen on the morning dives are home to colourful broccoli soft corals , gorgonia and nudibranchs . Shoaling small fish sparkle in the shallows . The rocky seabed at the shore dive site was covered in plate-sized anenomes , soft and hard corals . Anthias , angel fish , pufferfish , bream , pomfret , hawkfish , glassfish and lionfish darted about . Cleaner wrasse were in action among the boulders , and a shoal of large grey mullet zoomed around the shallows at the end .
That evening , divers gathered in a local hotel for the annual meeting and banquet . JongSub Park , representative of BSAC Korea , summed up activity in 2022 , highlighting Ice Diving among other SDCs , and introduced plans for 2023 , including the introduction of the Advanced Ocean Diver qualification and the local adaptation
of the Seamanship for Divers materials .
After the banquet , the annual prize-giving commended centres and individuals , and the winners of the 15th BSAC Korea Underwater Photography Contest were announced as follows : Grand prize , Hye Won Choi ; Gold , Seung-jip Kim ; Silver , Soo Yeon Lee ; Bronze : Yoon Jung Lee . Finally the raffle distributed substantial prizes thanks to the agencies and businesses who generously supported the return of the end-of-year event . �
Follow I am a Diver
■ Become an Underwater Litter Picker every time you dive
■ Underwater litter picks are a practical way to publicise BSAC ’ s marine conservation campaigns
■ Invite your friends to follow the I am a Diver campaign on social media
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