About 120 divers from some ten centres, from staff to volunteering holiday divers, got to work over a 1km section from Jack Alley to Eel Garden, off Ras Mohammed. The day-long effort was organised by the National Parks of Egypt and the country’s Chamber of Diving and Watersports (CDWS).
Diving from eight dive boats, with supervision from National Parks patrol boats, the divers managed to collect 150kg of rubbish.
Items included ropes, light anchors, tin containers, glass bottles and, oddly, bricks. Most of the rubbish, however, was fishing line – evidence of illegal and destructive fishing within the park’s protected area.
With technical divers on hand, operations went as deep as 50m. Divers were briefed by National Park rangers on what to collect, what to leave and how to cut away fishing line in the safest and least damaging way.
“From what we have seen the biggest problem is in the deep water,” Dr Mohammed Salem, Director, National Park South Sinai Protectorates, said. “I think it will raise awareness – we plan to send to fishing authorities pictures and documentation to show the impact of illegal fishing in Ras Mohammed and the rest of the South Sinai region.”
He added that it was hoped that there would be “many more such clean-ups across the whole of the South Sinai”.
CDWS member operations that took part in the clean-up included Anthias Divers, Camel Dive Club, Colona, King Snefro Fleet, Nexus, Oonas, Red Sea Diving College, Sea Queen Fleet and Sinai Divers.
A dozen divers from Clean Sharm, a volunteer environmental group drawing from Sharm residents, also took part.
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