20 divers collected more than 72kg of trash in 45 minutes at Sisters’ Islands Marine Park on World Oceans Day, such as metal nails, a discarded trolley, and an old boat battery among others.
The information on trash collected from the clean-up was uploaded onto Dive Against Debris, an online portal which collates international marine trash data run.
Dr Toh Tai Chong, who helped organize the event said that such data helps to give a better picture of the regional trash situation.
For example, identifying trash “hot spots” could help conservation groups zoom in on the areas which need the most urgent action, he said.
Other than collecting trash, the volunteers also helped to rescue corals by picking up fragments that had been dislodged from the reef, and transferring them to NParks’ coral nursery to grow.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 8 June 2017