SCUBACHAT we could do the litter picking event on 8 May and 5 June . We sounded out our idea with our club , and they were very supportive . After that , the three of us split the work to contact the local council , the Port of London Authority , Environment Agency , Rainham RSPB , we also had to register with organisers Surfers Against Sewage .
It was a lot of work , but we completed our tasks within the week . Everyone was very supportive . The SAS sent us litter bags , needle disposable boxes , 30 pairs of gloves and lots of marketing materials .
On both the allotted days we had no idea how many members and friends would turn up . We ended up having over 20 members with their families on both events .
The entire area was littered with countless cotton bud plastic sticks … tiny plastic shards as far as you can see and beyond . This was going to take more than two litter pick events to clean the entire area , but we made a big effort .
Apart from the tiny plastics , we also found lots of plastic toys ; balls ; wine corks ; balloons ; party poppers ; religious statues . There were also many discarded ‘ adult toys ’, which made everyone giggle !
On the first day we collected 25 huge SAS litterbags ; on 5 June we collected 26 bags . Stuart , Nicola and I could not be prouder of our club ; it was an incredible effort , considering most of the plastics were tiny and hard to pick up . Everyone was excited to be doing something positive for our environment . We will be adding more dates to our calendar for litter picking , and anyone should feel free to join us . PREEDA HARISH Kumar , BSAC 49 ( Ilford and Havering )
later it was confirmed there was nothing wrong with the bone , but some fluid build-up and resulting tissue damage had occurred . It was all brought on by my failure to ensure my fins were correctly fitted . The excitement of getting into the water was too great and I failed to check my gear properly on this occasion . I had been using these fins for three years , and never had a problem previously .
The moral of this story is always checking your kit is properly fitted and adjusted .
My injury will take up to 4 to 5 months to heal . I ’ m still in pain now after seven weeks , so I have well and truly learnt my lesson . I am so grateful for the care and treatment I received from the Midland Dive Chamber staff and cannot thank them enough for their time . AL THOMPSON , Coventry BSAC Monday Club
PHOTO : MARK MILBURN PHOTO : KERRY PLACE
Clean-up on the Epsilon
VOLUNTEER DIVERS AND GHOST NET recovery charities have cleared the SS Epsilon , in Falmouth Bay , of lost fishing gear . The process has taken a long time , with several visits from Atlantic Scuba , Fathom ’ s Free , NARC and Ghost Fishing UK . Over the last two years , more than two tonnes of fishing nets , pots and ropes have been recovered , recycled or safely disposed .
The final ghost gear removal took place on 10 July , collecting the medium to large pieces , while leaving only deeply embedded remnants . For many years , SS Epsilon has been referred to as a ‘ dirty ’ wreck , with huge clumps of net tangled all over its surfaces .
Now that it is virtually clean , it will be monitored regularly by local divers , to check if any more nets turn up . If any do appear they can be investigated to see whether they are new nets ; old nets that have been rolling around the sea bed for many years ; or nets that have been buried on the site and uncovered by the shifting sea bed .
As one of the most dived wrecks in Falmouth Bay , the quantities of nets lying around it made it a less pleasant experience . Every time we took divers there , they always commented on the nets . We had been picking away at it for a while , but with Fathom ’ s Free and Ghost Fishing UK spending days on site , it certainly made it happen much faster . Our divers will be keeping an eye out , in case any more ghost fishing gear turns up . Luke Bullus of Fathoms Free said ; “ As a regular diver of the Epsilon with Atlantic Scuba , it ’ s great to see the wreck is finally clear of ghost gear . Clearing the wreck has been a great collective effort from all involved . It will be interesting to see if more lost and abandoned nets appear on the wreck in the future . I ’ m really looking forward to being able to spend more time taking photos of the abundance of marine life found on the wreck , rather than filling a mesh bag of ghost gear on every dive !” Fred Nunn of Ghost Fishing UK said : “ It ’ s been very rewarding to be involved in the clean-up . Between all the organisations involved there must have been over 10 projects / trips , all with the goal to eventually clear the site of ghost gear . We are now in the position to have a cleared site to monitor closely and any changes can be documented and investigated for their origin . Plus , it is one of my favourite local wrecks , so that ’ s a bonus !” Well done to all involved . MARK MILBURN , Atlantic Scuba
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