Divers plunge for trash on World Oceans Day

A toilet, a stereo and a two-day-old newspaper were among the items plucked from the ocean floor Saturday by divers in Terence Bay, N.S.

The cleanup effort was in celebration of World Oceans Day and drew dozens of divers to the wharf under sunny skies.

Organizer April Weickert of Torpedo Rays Scuba Adventures said about 172 kilograms of debris was collected.

"We need to make our ocean really beautiful," said Weickert, just after several people dressed in drysuits and carrying mesh bags plunged into sparkling blue water.

"We really need to take care of it and just make it a better place."

Divers made 'big dent'

Danny Munn, a 35-year-old diver from Elmsdale, N.S., said he tries to collect trash every time he goes below the surface.

"It's nice to get out in full force with a bunch of people like this," said Munn, his face barely visible beneath his large goggles and black drysuit.

"You can make a big dent in the garbage on the bottom of the ocean when you have this many people."

Some of the other items collected included many beer and pop cans, mugs and spools of wire.

Other events held across province

A number of events were being held across the province over the weekend to mark World Oceans Day, including cleanups at Lawrencetown Beach, McNabs Island and Cow Bay Beach.

In Liverpool, N.S., a protest was held Saturday by community members opposing aquaculture expansion in Liverpool Bay.

Kelly Cove Salmon, a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture, already has 14 salmon cages at a site in Liverpool Bay near Coffin Island.

Cooke has made an application to the province to add 46 more cages in Liverpool Bay, which is enough capacity for 1.8 million salmon.

A decision from the province's aquaculture review board is expected sometime this year.

Canada first proposed the idea of World Oceans Day at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.