Sarasota Bay Watch (SBW) conducted an underwater cleanup of The New Pass public fishing piers on Saturday, June 3, with the help of 66 volunteers. The volunteers included Sarasota Bay Watch board members, 35 divers, eight kayakers, a couple of jet skis and 21 land based participants. Partnering with Sarasota Bay Watch were city of Sarasota- Sustainability, the Sarasota Police Department, Scuba Quest, the Sarasota Police Dive Team, NAUI Green Diver, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, Marina Jacks, Aqua Lung and Reelcycle.

The event kicked off at 8 a.m. and lasted until noon. Sarasota Bay Watch provided coffee and snacks for the volunteers as well as gloves, scissors and knives to break down the debris. The combined effort of all volunteers netted 330 pounds of lead (net weight, sinkers), 47 cast nets and 18 fishing lures. Also recovered from the New Pass waters were a moving dolly, eight fishing poles, three fishing reels, nine knives, a PVC pipe, a machete, a gas meter, a radio and a package of lead sinkers.

One of the primary reasons for conducting these cleanups, besides the obvious benefit of clearing debris from the water, was to prevent the trapping and killing of marine life in the tangle of nets and other rubble. During the event volunteers collected and released over 70 crabs, lobster, sea stars, fish and octopus.

While divers combed the bottom, volunteers on the water collected the debris and brought it to a floating dock that was donated by Marina Jacks. The dock provided a staging area that allowed the transfer of the collected items to top side volunteers. The majority of the debris was made up of cast nets in varying sizes. These nets were then stripped of their weights and both components were catalogued and weighed to provide data on marine debris.

The event was organized by the board of directors with SBW's coordinator Ronda Ryan. The event would not have been possible without the help and support of board member Al Jefferies, owner of Scuba Quest. Jefferies coordinated the divers, provided volunteers with a complementary tank of air and was on hand as a cheerleader for the event. Many of Scuba Quest's employees were also on hand to help with the underwater operations.

SBW was formed 10 years ago with an emphasis on scallop restoration, bay island clean ups and monofilament collection in bird rockeries. Over the years the mission of Sarasota Bay Watch has expanded to included underwater cleanups, clam restoration, removal of evasive species from bay islands, youth education and outreach, sustainable seawalls and much more. The organization has a dedicated board led by President Larry Stults. According to Stults, the reason SBW has been so successful and able to expand its outreach is the cadre of community volunteers that rally to support its mission and events. If you would like to join in the work to protect and preserve the bay, go to Sarasotabaywatch.org. There you'll find a listing of events both past, present and future.