Was the Sanabel causeway cleanup mentioned at the pass cleanup? Hopefully, I'll be able to make this one.
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/032406/tp8ew9.htm?date=032406&story=tp8ew9.htm
03/24/06
Divers clean Boca pass
ENGLEWOOD -- For two days, divers armed with knives, scissors and tin snips combed the 85-foot-deep waters of Boca Grande Pass, cutting and pulling up trash and debris from the renowned fishing hotspot.
Monday and Tuesday's adventures marked the channel's fifth annual cleanup, which encompassed dozens of divers and 115 participants, including boat captains and deck hands.
Together, they pulled up 3,377 pounds of trash from the pass' bottom, giving the program a five-year total of 25,692 pounds of debris.
"You name it, we've found it down there," said Bob Wasno, diver and member of the University of Florida's Florida Sea Grant Program.
The sea grant program, along with the Boca Grande Enhancement Fund, the South Florida Water Management District and Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc. sponsored the event.
In all, 30 government and civic organizations participated in the cleanup. Participants included the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Mote Marine Laboratory, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.
Private divers and captains also joined the effort.
"It's a great success," said Nat Italiano, a director with the Boca Grande Pass Enhancement Fund.
Wasno said 41 divers participated in the cleanup Monday, and 29 hit the waters Tuesday.
Each day consisted of two 45-minute dives. Buoys marked spots where crews expected to find debris, as well as previously unsearched areas.
Italiano said they retrieved 10 anchors, six fishing poles, piles of 80- and 100-pound-test fishing line and a beach chair. The material filled about half a Dumpster, but was less than what divers had collected in previous years.
In 2004, for example, marine debris totaled 7,004 pounds.
Italiano said the annual cleanups were part of the reason divers recovered less material.
"We've been getting less and less every year," Italiano said.
Boca Grande Pass, a haven for tarpon fisherman, separates the southern tip of Gasparilla Island from Cayo Costa State Park.
It's made up of clay and limestone ledges, many of which include cave-like undercuts that extend into darkness.
Its deep crevices are home to tarpon and Goliath grouper -- both of which Wasno said divers encountered -- and a number of shark species, including bull and hammerhead sharks.
Wasno said boaters at the ends of the pass spotted sharks, but no diver ran into the fish.
"It's not a simple splash in the backyard pool," Wasno said. "It can be pretty unnerving."
At a depth of 45 feet, visibility was about 10 feet. Below 70 feet, "you were pretty much in a blackout," Wasno said.
Wasno said more communities should offer similar cleanup opportunities to clear their waterways, adding that a dive is being planned to clean the channel under the Sanibel Causeway.
"There's a lot of debris in the (Boca Grande Pass) and we're putting it in there," Italiano said. "And we decided to take it out."
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/032406/tp8ew9.htm?date=032406&story=tp8ew9.htm
03/24/06
Divers clean Boca pass
ENGLEWOOD -- For two days, divers armed with knives, scissors and tin snips combed the 85-foot-deep waters of Boca Grande Pass, cutting and pulling up trash and debris from the renowned fishing hotspot.
Monday and Tuesday's adventures marked the channel's fifth annual cleanup, which encompassed dozens of divers and 115 participants, including boat captains and deck hands.
Together, they pulled up 3,377 pounds of trash from the pass' bottom, giving the program a five-year total of 25,692 pounds of debris.
"You name it, we've found it down there," said Bob Wasno, diver and member of the University of Florida's Florida Sea Grant Program.
The sea grant program, along with the Boca Grande Enhancement Fund, the South Florida Water Management District and Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc. sponsored the event.
In all, 30 government and civic organizations participated in the cleanup. Participants included the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Mote Marine Laboratory, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program.
Private divers and captains also joined the effort.
"It's a great success," said Nat Italiano, a director with the Boca Grande Pass Enhancement Fund.
Wasno said 41 divers participated in the cleanup Monday, and 29 hit the waters Tuesday.
Each day consisted of two 45-minute dives. Buoys marked spots where crews expected to find debris, as well as previously unsearched areas.
Italiano said they retrieved 10 anchors, six fishing poles, piles of 80- and 100-pound-test fishing line and a beach chair. The material filled about half a Dumpster, but was less than what divers had collected in previous years.
In 2004, for example, marine debris totaled 7,004 pounds.
Italiano said the annual cleanups were part of the reason divers recovered less material.
"We've been getting less and less every year," Italiano said.
Boca Grande Pass, a haven for tarpon fisherman, separates the southern tip of Gasparilla Island from Cayo Costa State Park.
It's made up of clay and limestone ledges, many of which include cave-like undercuts that extend into darkness.
Its deep crevices are home to tarpon and Goliath grouper -- both of which Wasno said divers encountered -- and a number of shark species, including bull and hammerhead sharks.
Wasno said boaters at the ends of the pass spotted sharks, but no diver ran into the fish.
"It's not a simple splash in the backyard pool," Wasno said. "It can be pretty unnerving."
At a depth of 45 feet, visibility was about 10 feet. Below 70 feet, "you were pretty much in a blackout," Wasno said.
Wasno said more communities should offer similar cleanup opportunities to clear their waterways, adding that a dive is being planned to clean the channel under the Sanibel Causeway.
"There's a lot of debris in the (Boca Grande Pass) and we're putting it in there," Italiano said. "And we decided to take it out."
