Marine Cleanup Initiative, Inc. (MCII)

MCII Volunteer outshines her adult counterparts

2012-02-11T21:46:00.001-05:00

Missy, Lilly and Trent Tougas - Six degrees of separation
By Tania Ortega-Cowan

Friday, February 3, 2012

When ocean conservationist Sylvia Earle, TIME Magazine’s first-named “Hero for the Planet” (1998), gave her presentation last September at Juno Beach’s Loggerhead Marine’s Center’s 2011 Go Blue Awards banquet, she included in her visual presentation a photo of a cupcake.

“This might look like a cupcake to you,” she told the crowd, “but this cupcake means hope for the future because Lilly Tougas makes them for the planet and sells them for conservation.”

Missy and Lilly Tougas were finalists for the Blue Ambassador Award at the awards banquet. Sylvia Earle first heard about Lilly through internationally-famous conservation artist Wyland.

Lilly, a friend of Wyland, has spoken to Congress, traveled to China, raised funds to bring Wyland’s Mobile Learning Center to the Treasure Coast - the list goes on.

Oh! And Lilly is 11 years old.

“I just really always liked the earth and had compassion for everybody for as long as I can remember.” she says confidently.

Lilly’s mother Missy grew up just a mile from Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. “As a child I was given a world ocean education, learning about aquaculture and ocean science. It was what we did for fun.”

Missy now volunteers with a number of groups including Ocean Rehab, Marine Clean-up Initiative and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. When Wyland came to Harbor Branch in 2007 for a youth art event, daughter Lilly met him and forged a friendship.

Missy says, “Lilly told him ‘I am with you on this mission!’ He then invited her to Sea World for a project. Next he invited her and only three other children from the United States to Beijing, China for his 100th Whaling Wall Project during the 2008 Olympics. He gave her a medal and said she is a Youth Ambassador for the Planet and told her to go home and take action.”

And so she did.

“You have to encourage children,” she says. “If they have ideas, you need to listen and empower their ideas.”

She decided to open a lemonade stand outside a grocery store, and as she made money, she would go in and buy the reusable grocery bags and then give them to her lemonade customers. Next, she designed art for the bags and sold them to raise money to go to Beijing. Then she started her Cupcakes for the Planet campaign to bring in Wyland’s Mobile Learning Center.

Wyland invited Lilly to Washington DC for a FOCUS event (Forests, Ocean, Climate and Us), a nationwide campaign in partnership with the U.S. Forestry Service, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and the Wyland Foundation. There she spoke in front of Congress.

Lilly’s six-year old brother Trent is also involved. For his birthday party he held a beach clean-up. In fact, the family has organized numerous beach clean-ups including ‘The Mayor’s Beach Cleanups’ all along the Treasure Coast.

Involved with Vero Classical Ballet, Lilly’s new idea is “Dancing for the Planet.” With her connections, she plans to make it an international event.

You go, girl!

Rewards for divers and captains

2011-10-27T17:00:00.002-04:00

MCII is happy to announce that in 2012, three oil and gas companies and several large outlet stores have agreed to supply pre-paid gas and gift cards for distribution to divers(gift)and captains (fuel). After 10 years and over 300,000 pounds of debris removed, it is about time to reward this great volunteers in a more positive way without violating their amateur status.

We will again be leading the field in such a partnership. This will be a test program with success for the program based on volunteer levels and collected materials. We are still working on parameters and a few sticking points, but as for the concept and support, we are good to go.

We, in advance, thank our new corporate sponsors and look forward to working with you and to many more, that will be signing on soon. It is important for corporations to sing up and be PROACTIVE for these important issues rather than scrambling from a negative position and bad public relations. We applaud their forward thinking.

2011-08-15T18:06:00.003-04:00

NEW LOGO UNVAILED!

Our new logo can be seen in shirt patches, on our letterhead, and all of our advertisements around the County, on the Turnpike and in print. Order your patches and support MCII’s efforts.

FLEET INCREASES – TRASH BEWARE

MCII will take delivery (again) of their specially outfitted deployment vessel. Returned for some modifications in the spring, the Sheldon Brotman will return to service for the fall campaign and thereafter. This special vessel is a 19 foot inflatable pontoon vessel made by TEC Innovations, the same company that manufactured the floating collars for the space capsules, features a through hull entry and exit port. This allows the pontoons to break up waves and provide smooth transitions for the divers. The 19 foot vessel has a 90 HP motor, VHS radio, depth and GPS instruments, underwater flood lighting and seating and secure places for 6 divers.

This equipment working in coordination with the Channel Cat, our shallow water jet drive bridge boat. Safety sleds to attach to jet skis and the skis themselves are soon to be delivered, rounding out the equipment needed to increase the impact MCII can make towards the removal of mid to large sized debris around the state.

10 years straight in Sebastian - over 15 tons

2011-07-24T18:02:00.001-04:00

10th ANIVERSARY SEBASTIAN INLET CLEANUP DIVE – JULY 23RD

On a late Saturday Afternoon dive, 26 divers left the Sebastian Yacht Club Ramp and staged on the North side of the inlet from the tidal pool West as far as the 8 vessels could spread. The water was swift and murky but these divers set about to gather in over 25 anchors, 15 casting nets with three being massive and needing several divers to move. One boat had 10 encrusted fishing poles set in their rod holders on-board. One diver just collected lead weights.

The entire dive was in question when dark skies and thunderstorms gathered over I-95 all day. Our 10th annual cleanup day was shared with the 4th annual Waterway Committee’s 4 hour shore cleanup, but this year, they sent divers on a low tide slack current into the inlet mouth before us. And, although any thrash removed is a good thing, it felt like that part of movie, “Braveheart” where the English nobles slept with the bride the night before the wedding. The worse most dangerous and toxic water would be that flowing out of the inlet around low tide. Not the smartest time to place humans there. These are things divers and captains learn with our certification program. As their efforts were around the sandbar anchorages, it had little actual effect other than for show.

Our massive diver response yielded 2600 pounds. Our normal take for such a number of divers should have been more, but with the continued attention we have given to this fishing area, our impact is being seen here and we are making great progress. Construction continues around the “L” pier, so we avoided the south side again. Later next month, we will return and hit that side and give it a good scrubbing.

Limelight Event Production again provided pizzas from Papa John’s with beer, soda and water to go along with the T-shirts and gas cards for captains. After boats were cleaned, food eaten and cleaned up and all debris sorted, separated and disposed of, we looked ahead to a few weekends off and our next operations.

Thanks to all the captains and their boats without which this season would have been impossible. Thanks to Water N’ Sports and Dive Odyssea for supporting our efforts with air fills and lots of additional services.

Thanks,

Captain don

Tavernier Trip

2011-03-23T00:12:00.003-04:00

DOES FT PIERCE HOLD THE KEY TO THE REGROWTH OF FLORIDA’S CORAL FIELDS?

On Friday, March 18th, Marine Cleanup Initiative, Inc’s Operations Director Captain Donald Voss loaded 16 divers and 5 bubble watchers onto a Midnight Sun bus sponsored by Open Water Products President Jack Hudson, headed to Tavernier, Florida to the Coral Restoration Foundation.

In December, Captain Don attended a National Geographic Seminar regarding the Blue Ocean Project. Local Scientist Dr Brian Lapointe and others spoke on the damage done to Florida’s coral in the 1990’after the waters and bloom coming from the Snake River Slough engulfed the Keys and killed 90% of the coral. Andy Northrop of Coral Restoration Foundation was next and spoke of the coral growth and successes this foundation was having in extending new coral areas however, they did not have enough help to complete their task before their grant ran out in July 2011. Captain Voss pulled Andy aside and offered to bring a bus of divers down if that might be of any assistance. Thus this partnership was formed.

Marine Cleanup Initiative, Inc then set about to find sponsors and volunteers who might give of their own to help our reefs and plant some coral. Jack Hudson, a local Ft Pierce man who invents safety products that are eco-friendly as well as eco-smart, stepped forward and asked if he could provide the bus and attend the event. The Subway Shop on Seaway Drive provided food for the trip on the way down. Harbor Branch provided water for the trip and dive. Otherwise, divers paid their own way to attend this vital planting.

As Ft Pierce’s Re-Development Director, Jon Ward works with local groups to more extensively establish an Ecotourism Board and Industry, MCII had divers from Juno Beach’s Loggerhead Marine Life Center, as well as from Sebastian, Cleveland, San Francisco as well as Ft Pierce, all coming here to travel and save Florida’s precious reefs.

Since December, Andy was replaced at CRF by Kevin Gaines, a Vero Beach resident and another passionate supporter of our oceans. Along with Dan Dawson of Horizon Dive Center and the Key West Inn of Tavernier, the trip was arranged and it was fantastic. There was not a single hitch in this rapidly staged event as every one of these organizations is totally professional.
Rooms were around $120.00. Diving was $56.00 per dive. Entrance to the Coral Garden is $25 per day. The Bus was $100 per person.

Saturday morning all volunteers attended a lecture and briefing session at the Holiday Inn, a short distance down the road, where the volunteers were educated with the information Captain Don witnessed in December. The mid-morning session was a hands-on training class held out of water yet simulating the cleaning process and layout of the garden. The afternoon was filled with a two tank dive to prepare coral “plugs” for transplanting the next day.

The growing process has evolved over the years and as a result of differing conditions such as the cold spells of the last few years. Coral is generally very sensitive to temperature and water clarity issues and many baby corals died from those cold spells. Also, as processes changed, different shapes and techniques were employed. Volunteers absorbed all in preparation for the event.

Captain Don had a two sided reason for heading to Tavernier. Habitat Restoration is a large part of the NOAA grant MCII received and it is important to learn any and every technique out there. Training and certification for Marine Debris and Habitat Restoration are a large part of the grant process; as is the education of divers and citizens.

And then the second side… and this is where Ft Pierce comes into play. It is widely believed that coral formations do not traditionally exist north of Jupiter, Florida due to water temperature, yet MCII volunteers, some lifelong local diver’s state they know of stands of coral in our area. Kevin Gaines became very excited to learn this and asked that we document this coral as to depth, species report this back to CRF. If our coral matches, this might be a way to strengthen the gene pool with coral more resistant to cold waters.

Sunday, another class and training session was held to teach the actual process for transplanting the coral from the garden to Molasses Reef to re-establish the coral there.

Once transported, a two part epoxy is used to secure the corals, three different genotypes grouped together, to use as a monitoring and research process. A plaque ID’ing this information is places by each genotype.

Although the work was labor intense and the conditions were less than stellar, MCII divers worked in four 4-person teams to place and secure all the babies and then take a few minutes to enjoy the reef and the life there. The knowledge learned will return with us to Ft Pierce for promotion of our marine life.

The entire trip and demand to attend the next trip has caused MCII to start looking for additional sponsors and a good date that works for CRF. MCII will start their spring operations soon working to remove 17 derelict vessels as well as fulfill obligations to South Florida Water Management District’s Snook Plate Grant Program who is funding lagoon cleanup from Ft Pierce City Marine to St Lucie Inlet and the on-going NOAA grant who continues to fund the cleanup from Sebastian Inlet to Ft Pierce City Marina. Without these funds, MCII would not be able to continue this valuable work of debris removal and habitat restoration.

I would be untruthful, if I did not take a few seconds and talk about the marine life and their interest in our efforts. On the first dive, fish seemed to stay at arms length. There are many cleaning stations in this garden. A cleaning station is a place where shrimps and small fish assist larger fish. Cleaning station fish, which have a symbiotic relationship with larger fish, climb onto large fish and eat parasites from their mouths and body. This must be a very relaxing process, because the larger fish appear to be most docile during these times. It is unique that there appears to be no fear or cheating when the shrimps and crabs at these stations crawl in and out of their mouths and all over these fish.

When first we appeared, the fish of all sizes were nervous and stayed at great distance. As we cleaned and worked and moved into our second tank dive, the nervous period ended. I had small shrimps crawl onto my arm and wait there while I cleaned the coral groves. Small wrasses and grunts would swim in and around my hands snatching up any food matter available to help in the effort. Our experiences on the reef the next day were similar. As soon as coral was secured, tiny tropicals came out nowhere to investigate and see if they had found a new home. We had turtles and rays and hog snappers cruise on through the area checking out what was happening. Men using picks and chisels must be rare underwater. It was all just too overwhelming.

None of this could have been possible without the help of the volunteers and the kind infusions of our sponsors. Thanks to everyone and especially to Coral Restoration Foundation for the great work they are doing. Our next trip will be mid-May, so call and save a space for this unique experience.

Follow our upcoming events and cleanup schedule at: www.MarineCleanupInitiativeInc.Org

Next Cleanup Dives:
Friday April 8, 2011 - 3:00pm dive at Sebastian Inlet North side for Turtle Fest on April 9 at Loggerhead Marine Life Center from 10am until 6pm.

Saturday May 14, 2011- Nearshore Hardbottom with Coastal Tech cleanup from Sebastian 9am – 3pm, weather permitting.

Tuesday June 7, 2011 – 4pm dive at South Causeway Bridge Park for
World Oceans Day at Loggerhead MarineLife Center 10am until 5pm.

Saturday July 16, 2011 – Noon – Ft Pierce and Sebastian Inlet Maintenance Cleanup Dive

We have May 6-8 or May 20-22 available for another Tavernier trip if there is interest.

Captain Don

Cleanup Dives Sign-Up Form

2011-03-22T12:10:00.001-04:00

Please choose a sign up date from the drop down box next to "subject." You may sign up for as many dates as you wish but you need to submit a separate form for each date. See our website for more information.

Mandatory Liability Release Form

2011-03-22T11:00:00.000-04:00

Divers: Click here to read and sign mandatory Liability Release form.
We must have this form on file before you can dive.

2011-03-01T19:35:00.002-05:00

WORLD CLASS EVENT TO REPLANT CORAL REEFS IN FLORIDA KEYS STARTS IN FT. PIERCE.

On March 18th a busload of volunteer divers led by Capt. Don Voss of Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc and support crew led by Jack Hudson of Open Water Products LLC, will leave Ft. Pierce to attend intense training in underwater coral repair and restoration.

The 3-day training sessions will start on the 5hour bus trip down to the Horizon Dive Center Resort on Tavernier Key. Capt. Don of MCII in Ft. Pierce met Kevin Gaines of The Coral Restoration Foundation at an Oceans Initiative seminar held by National Geographic Ocean Initiative in Miami last December.

“We saw time lapse satellite images of massive brown plumes of chemicals and algae blooms that were discharged from the Everglades in the 1990’s coming out of the Fort Myers and the St. Lucie Inlets, that engulfed the Florida Keys.” said the Capt. This cloud of polluted fresh water rained down on our fragile coral reefs in what turned out to be one of the worst marine tragedies in Florida’s history.

The Coral Restoration Foundation has successfully grown endangered coral on private leased “farms” and has been working to repair and restore many dead reefs near Camp Pennecamp Park in Key Largo. Dr. Brian Lapointe, renowned scientist from Harbor Branch Oceanographic and long time activist for the Florida Keys will be joining the group to participate in the process and monitor the event. “Without this vital work it could take 10,000 years for the destroyed coral to come back naturally” said Capt. Don.

This training opportunity is the final session prior to divers receiving a new specialty scuba diver certification. The local divers who participate in this hands-on training will bring these new skills back to the Treasure Coast for use in our local waters. The final training will also consist of 2 days “planting” of 1,300 baby corals and repairs to numerous older colonies.

MCII has developed the Marine Debris Cleanup and Habitat Restoration Certification, the first of its kind in the world, through a grant from NOAA. Most of the 22 divers and 5 support crew attending have participated in ongoing cleanup dives of the Sebastian and Ft. Pierce Inlets and selected areas of the estuary in between.

There are still a few spots open for Certified Scuba Divers. Divers must bring their own dive gear and C card. The cost is $270 per diver, inclusive of everything except food. The bus leaves Dive Odyssea Center in Ft. Pierce Friday, March 18 at 4pm and returns Sunday, March 20 around 10pm. For more information, or to sign up, go to: www.MarineCleanupInitiativeInc.Org or call Capt. Don at 772-528-0675.

posted and written by Dyana Boyd-Voss

2011-03-01T18:44:00.003-05:00

"Reel and Recycle" is funded by NOAA Marine Debris Program. What I found interesting is this monofilament line is collected and sent to Berkeley Conservation Institute in California and it is sorted and melted into new products including Berkeley Fish-Hab, an artificial reef structure that helps build fish habitats.

A Berkley Fish-Hab is an artificial, underwater habitat structure made from recycled monofilament fishing line and line spools, along with other post-consumer materials like milk cartons and soft drink bottles. The Fish-Hab attracts fish and encourages plant growth almost immediately, providing the natural cover essential to the growth of a healthy fish population.

Fish-Habs are available to everyone; pond owners, anglers, communities or anyone interested in improving an aquatic habitat. We designed the 4-foot cube Fish-Hab structure to be easily assembled in minutes. The completed assembly is lightweight and easy to anchor under water.

Loggerhead Marine Life Center News

2011-03-01T18:18:00.001-05:00

Sea Turtle Nesting season officially begins today-March 1st. Thought you might enjoy reading the following about nesting season from the LMC website: http://www.marinelife.org/blog Amazing that last year on the 9.8 miles of shoreline in Juno Beach, Jupiter and Tequesta there 28,179 total sea turtle crawls with 10,309 sea turtle nests.

Tavernier Key Eco-Tour Trip Booked

2011-01-31T00:28:00.004-05:00

MCII is all set to take a 20 diver team of volunteers and several cameramen to the Coral Restoration Foundation to assist with the planting of 1300 coral babies they have been raising this year. Divers will learn techniques and procedures in classes each morning. The afternoons will be used to view the “farm,” to repair damaged coral formations and to plant the new babies.

This partnership is a result of an NOAA and National Geographic Conference held December 1st in Miami. Captain don offered divers to the project manager after witnessing the fantastic work they do and realized their needs. A look at their site will help you see their success as well. Our divers work tirelessly in less than wonderful conditions to clear the waterways. This is a great opportunity to dive in clear warm water near the end of winter.

Techniques learned can be used to transplant coral here again as well. Although many so-called experts claim coral can not grow in water of this clarity and cold temprature, our divers know of clumps of existing coral and using our new skills can extend our gardens as well.

Donations were received for the bus round trip, but divers are currently bearing the cost of the remainder of the trip. All donations or sponsorship will be greatly appreciated and recognition will be generous. This is a fantastic feel good operation.

There may be a few spots left as people juggle their schedules. Our schedule is as follows:
4pm March 18 leave Dive Odyssea parking lot on the bus and head to keys
10pm’ish arrive Tavenier Key, Horizon Dive Center (rooms here too)
9am March 19 leave for morning classes at Coral Restoration Foundation
1pm two tank dive at coral park
rest of day off
9am March 20 leave for morning classes at CRF
1pm two tank dive at coral park
4pm board bus for Dive Odyssea
10pm arrive in ft pierce.

The cost is $270/diver plus food.

We will pick up pizza and drinks on the ride home.

Letter from Coral Restoration Director

2011-01-13T14:33:00.002-05:00

Hi Don
I am the new Operations Manager and Stephanie Roach is our new Field Biologist. We are excited about working with your group to help volunteer with our coral nursery and on restoration/monitoring work.

Our ideal weekend would involve class work Sat AM with nursery work (2 tanks) in the afternoon. Sun AM class work covering restoration, then restoration transplanting at Molasses Reef (2 tanks) in the afternoon.

We do have some corals to monitor at many other sites such as Alligator Reef, but are presently gearing up for 1200 corals for Molasses.

I actually live in Vero Beach and will be down here every other week for the coming months. If you would like to discuss next week while I am in Vero, I would be happy to meet with you.

Kevin Gaines, Director

Coral Restoration Bus Trip

2011-01-10T00:30:00.003-05:00

Marine Cleanup Initiative, Inc will take the first 20 divers who sign up either here on-line, at Dive Odyssea or a Water n'Sports, for a nice bus trip to Tavernier Key and the Coral Restoration Foundation headquarters. A sponsor has already provided the funds for the bus, we are working on a sponsor for the boat reantal for the two afternoon two tank dives. There will be two short morning classes on Saturday and Sunday. Then, on Saturday, a dive to the farm will be followed by a recreational dive at Allegator Key. On Sunday, there will be a two tank dive to move, repair and "plant" coralat the farm. We will then leave and head back.

Divers will be responsible for their rooms for two days and food. There are 20 diver spaces on the trip, however, there are more seats on the bus, if a passenger wants to travel as well. We will gather more information by January 20th.

We hope to make this a frequent trip as this is a wonderful project and can use our support,

Divers Free Whale and Receive Rewards of Love

2010-12-20T21:11:00.009-05:00

The Whale...
If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

Read the full story here.

ATTENTION DIVERS

2010-12-20T19:08:00.003-05:00

2011 Schedule is now being created, if you have a pet project, know of sunken derelict vessels or marine debris, send MCII the GPS data and we will check it out. If you are a fisherman and continually are snagging the same places, send MCI those GPS coordinates and we will investigate.

January 2011 – Derelict Vessel work
February 2011 – Derelict Vessel work
March 2011 - Three day trip including two days of diving in Tavernier, Florida – March 18 - 20th - MCII will partner with the Coral Restoration Foundation of Tavernier and take 20 divers to learn coral “growing” and “planting” techniques and assist in the process. There will be some recreational diving as well. The trip is open to just the first 20 divers. We will add more trips if there is enough interest. This will be a fantastic trip both environmentally and recreationally. Others will call this eco-tourism. We will find a sponsor to fund a majority of the cost of this trip, but food and drink are on you.
April 8 - 9, 2011 – Turtlefest at Loggerhead Marine Life Center April 9, 2011. We will dive on Friday April 8th at 1:30PM in Fort Pierce to collect debris for a display at Loggerhead on the 9th. The event will be at the Marine Center on US1 just south of Juno Beach.
May 2011 – Marine debris operations TBA
June 25, 2011 – WETFEST of Water, Energy and Education - A national event that will focus on watershed issues and marine pollution and cleanup. The event will feature organizations interested and involved with water and energy issues combined with food, fun, music and drinks.
July 16, 2011 – Annual Inlet Maintenance Cleanup Dives in Sebastian and Fort Pierce as listed on www.marinecleanupinitiativeinc.org.

Marine Cleanup Initiative Earns Grant Money to Clean Lagoon

2010-05-11T11:55:00.002-04:00

Read the article from the TCPalm.

Celebrate Earth Day April 22, 2010

2010-04-21T17:18:00.005-04:00

From Yahoo News: "The global village prepares for the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. We explore what people are planning to do all over the world."

Watch the Earth Day Video from Yahoo News.

NEED FOR PLASTICS AND FISHING LINE CLEANUP GAINS SUPPORT

2010-04-09T20:41:00.033-04:00

By Captain Donald A. Voss
Operations Director
Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc.

Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc (MCII) was founded some nine years ago to address the repercussions of the disposal of monofilament fishing line, plastics, casting nets, cargo nets, and miscellaneous fishing debris into the Sebastian Inlet. Over the years, this effort has expanded and now encompasses the Fort Pierce inlet as well.

After the hurricanes of 2004 (2) and 2005, this effort has grown out of control. Annual cleanup dives are conducted, each lasting for about one hour, but are barely sufficient to remove a year’s debris, let alone the burden added by three hurricanes

MCII collects data and GPS pings for debris areas radioed into the Fish and Wildlife Commission by local fisherpersons. Amounts collected increase each year with the addition of more boaters and divers who are enthusiastic about improving the environment. Still, we are only denting the surface.

It is for this reason that the Board of Directors and the Operations Officer took on the giant task of writing and submitting an application for funding to the NOAA and have applied for a Marine Cleanup and Restoration of Habitat Grant, which the NOAA offered last October. As our cleanup season approaches, it is with great pride that we announce that MCII is one of eight finalists for funding from a class of nearly 200. The competition was fierce and all projects were equally important and deserving of funding.

Reasons given for funding included:
• An established record of collection
• Gravity of need for the input of resources for a massive collection
• Established grant administration personnel

It was also noted that this area is a prime hatching area for several species of turtles. And, although many people disbelieve the concept that monofilament fishing line is a problem, one only needs to read the article “Entangled Whale Seen Offshore” in the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspaper, Section B, Page 1 on March 20, 2010. Or visit the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach to recognize that there is a real problem and it is up to all of us to address it and help where we can.

And, how could we help? Although this Restoration Grant will bring many thousands of dollars into this area, matching funds are needed to make this project a complete success. Cash and in-kind donations are greatly needed to help pay for commercial divers to remove larger items, fuel for volunteer boat owners, and money to produce public service announcements and other educational presentations to further the cause and to educate youngsters.

MCII certainly understands that times are hard and there is not a lot of spare money to be had and we continue to search for funding sources and sponsors. Project T-shirts are being designed and will be offered for sale to help offset some expenses.

MCII will be working hard to prepare for this 24-month project, but will continue to operate the annual inlet dives using the great base of volunteer boaters, deck hands, spotters and divers and will continue to coordinate these dives with their partners. These dives will serve as annual maintenance after commercial divers remove the heavier objects, under the NOAA grant.

The Grant funds inlet cleanup from Sebastian to Fort Pierce, cleanup of abandoned crab traps along the 96 square miles of the Indian River Lagoon, the fishing catwalks along the bridges in this same area, the L-dock at Sebastian Inlet, three fishing docks in the Fort Pierce Turning Basin area, the former site of City Marina’s floating dock system, and Faber Cove. This project will last until finished, or until May 31, 2012, whichever comes first. The City of Fort Pierce will partner with this project and offer an office, docks, storage, a debris separation site and trucks to remove what cannot be reused for proper disposal. The Sea Grant Program will remove the plastics and fishing line, recycle it, and use any proceeds to fund their projects. Dive Odyssea in Fort Pierce and Deep Six in Vero will provide air and supplies for the divers as the project moves between the two areas.

A Marine Cleanup Specialist Diver Certification Program is being developed in partnership with Dive Odyssea and MCII and, once completed, will be sent for approval to a professional diving organization such as PADI (Professional Association of Dive Instructors). Once approved, the course will be offered to train divers throughout the country and will set nationwide standards for the industry to protect divers, boaters, aquatic life and the habitat.

Interested sponsors, volunteers, professional and commercial divers, and other interested parties may contact Operation Director Captain Donald Voss at 772-528-0675 or check online at marinecleanupinitiativeinc@blogspot.com. Let’s all Dive In and Cleanup.

Boat Made From Recycled Bottles Draws Attention to Global Trash Problem - ABC News

2010-02-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

Boat Made From Recycled Bottles Draws Attention to Global Trash Problem - ABC News

Watch Where Your Donations Go

2009-08-02T17:56:00.002-04:00

Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc is dedicated to cleaning our waterways. When you donate to this organization, you do not need to fear some day you will read an article about us like this one. We post our accomplishments, videos of our efforts, and all newspaper articles that relate to our work on this site. Do not be discouraged by the fleecing artists and profiteers that frequent the south Florida beaches. Rather assist a worthwhile venture and follow the good we are doing as seen on local TV and in the press. Our efforts are high profile projects that draw dozens, if not hundreds of participants. We encourage the media to track the progress we make. Rather than seek donations with billboards, we make public appearances and offer presentations. Our accomplishments are not discussed in complicated IRS forms. Instead, you can come to the cleanup sites and see what we bring in.

We will again dive the Sebastian Inlet this coming Saturday, August 8th, weather permitting, and clear the fishing pier and "L" dock of monofilament line and casting nets that harm our wildlife.

We are currently in need of a pontoon boat and trailer to transport divers and debris to and from dive sites and around the state - with or without motor. Help us save the critters and our waterways. No luxury vessels please

Thank you for your support.

Captain don

Divers in Palm Beach Join the Cleanup Effort

2009-07-30T22:27:00.006-04:00

Click on the link below to see what divers in Palm Beach County are digging up in their efforts to clean up the underwater environment.

Divers Clean Up Underwater Waste

Data Card for Inlet Cleanups

2009-07-30T22:17:00.003-04:00

If you are a diver who participated in either the Ft Pierce Inlet Cleanup on July 25 or the Sebastian Inlet Cleanup on August 8 and have not yet filled out a data card, a link can be found on the right side of this page that will open up a data card form. Please fill out the form, save a copy to your computer as a Word.doc, and e-mail it to captain-don@comcast.net at your earliest convenience.

Thanks very much,
Captain don

Operation Reallocations for 2009 and Beyond

2009-07-26T21:36:00.008-04:00

In order to maximize energies for the upcoming Earth Day 2010 celebration, Earth Day Journal will focus its attention on the planning of this monster event while Marine Cleanup Initiative Inc. will focus on reef and inlet cleanup events in Florida and other locales, as needed.

Therefore, to better serve our volunteers, all diving events and information will be communicated through this site and by e-mail to Captain Donald Voss.

Please take the time to bookmark http://marinecleanupinitiativeinc.blogspot.com and check back regularly for updates on upcoming events and sign-up forms.

PLEASE, if you did not have an opportunity to fill out a data/collection card at the Fort Pierce Inlet Dive, e-mail me and I will send you a form to fill out. The information that you include on these cards helps our counties to better fund these efforts and gain public support.

I want to thank all who turned out to dive, offered their vessels and volunteered. You did a great job. We were covered on Channel 12 at the 6,7 and 11pm news. The Tribune will have a 350 word story about us as well. In addition, Mayor Benton was on one of our boats and was very excited about our efforts.

Let me know of your ideas. E-mail me for data forms and watch my site and your e-mails for updates (and video) of our dives.

Thanks,
Captain don

Waterway Cleanup After-Party

2009-07-25T21:00:00.003-04:00

All volunteers, including captains, divers, and deckhands who were present at either the Sebastian or Fort Pierce Inlet cleanup dives are invited to the Fort Pierce Yacht Club on Sunday, August 16, 2009 from 12:30p.m. until 3:30p.m. for food, resfreshments, and t-shirts in thanks for your efforts and support.

Please RSVP to Captain don via e-mail or call (772)528-0675 on or before August 9th.

EQUIPMENT EACH DIVER NEEDS FOR INLET CLEANUP DIVES

2009-05-02T11:52:00.005-04:00

1. Bring your own dive equipment. Your local dive shop has anything you may need.

2. Rent tanks or bring your own. Local dive shops will discount the rental and refill your tanks afterwards for free if you mention this dive effort.

3. You will need a Diver Down flag and float with 20 to 30 feet of string to attach flag/float to you as a locator.

4. Bring a cutting device… a snubbed knife, rounded scissors or something you can use safely to cut fishing line and plastics.

5. You will need a “tank banger” to signal other divers of trouble or to indicate “end of dive/surface now.”

We have some inventory of these items, but with the overwhelming response, we do not have enough to go around. Each diver will HAVE to have a FLAG and FLOAT attached to enter the water.

Bring your C card and/or other proof you are a current certified diver.

Performing Tasks While Diving in Strong Currents

2009-05-01T17:28:00.000-04:00

Although most cleanup dives are held at slack high tide, some locations require more technical diving. Certain inlets, such as Sebastian, are known for strong currents and strong tides. In these situations, reef hooks can be employed. The reason is simple: You need two hands to collect and this cannot be done when you need one hand to hold on to stay in place in a current.

Simply stated, a reef hook is a very large marlin fishing hook or gig hook with the point filed off. A line is attached to the eye and then to a clip on the divers weight belt or vest. The diver positions himself and engages the hook onto the bottom, a piling, or some heavy object to allow him to operate hands free in a specific place. To release the hook, the diver simply uses his fins to release the pressure on the line and then removes the hook. The diver can then move to another location and repeat the operation. These devices do not cause any harm to the environment and are a good safety tool. By using this method, divers can work specific areas or grids.

As shown in the photos below, the hooks work very well in strong currents. This method is used in the coral reefs of Palau, Fiji and Tahiti with great success. Aquatic life is protected from human hands and fins thrashing about and divers are protected and allowed to successfully complete their tasks.

What We Do and Why

2009-04-24T11:34:00.015-04:00

It is not enough to control the lobster harvests through permits and a timed season. It is not enough to control fish catches through weight and size. Monofilament line, bottles, cans, lead weights, lures, batteries, car tires, cast nets and other debris deteriorates and enters the food chain and winds up in our seafood meals. It poisons and mutates our seafood and handicaps the lives of aquatic creatures. All this occurs through inconsiderate littering and a lazy public attitude. It is our belief the public would change their habits if they were aware of the impact of their actions.

I have dived all over the world and have videotaped what I have seen. Humans leave footprints wherever they go… footprints of debris and trash. I have formed this initiative to heighten public awareness for the need to clean our inlets, reefs, wrecks, rivers, beaches, shoreline and jetties. It is easy to spot and clean litter landside. Our underwater side is less noticed. One might suspect that is why people along rivers and jetties or out boating think nothing of tossing over glass bottles, empty ice bags, wasted fishing line, or six pack rings. It sinks out of sight… so it must be gone.

Take two minutes to view the video of the Fort Pierce Inlet taken July 2008. I lead the first recreational divers allowed into those waters since 1974 and witnessed miles and miles of fishing line, hundreds of casting nets, bottles and cans and massive amounts of trash everywhere.

Thirty-five divers dove until they had to stop… not because we ran out of debris, not because we ran out of slack tide and current, not because we ran out of air…. No, we had to stop diving because we ran out of collection bags for the trash we were finding.

Our immediate goals are to:

1. Educate the general public of the need to recycle and pack out all materials they bring in. Our water is not a trash can or disposal site;

2. Educate the fishing public of the need to pack out fishing line and all plastics, bottles and glass;

3. Involve community-based groups, the news media and public officials in a program to educate and to gain support of the public;

4. Increase awareness of the value of scuba diving to undo some of the harm from pollution and littering;

5. Increase the training of divers and increase the involvement of new divers in this cleanup process; and

6. Increase the sites and volume of materials collected until the amounts of materials collected diminish as a result of the success of both cleanup and awareness.

Our long-term goals are to:

1. Through the establishment of a 501(c)3 Not-for-Profit Corporation we seek to write grant proposals for funding for larger, more global projects. Debris and trash enter into our creeks and streams and then follow our waterways to our oceans. Our situation is not unique. It is global. We will build our model program, through which we hope to gain success and teach others, thereby spreading the word.

2. Establish a line of communication with the fishing industry to look for different and less toxic fishing line material without offending or disrupting this necessary and vital industry.

3. Involve the fishing and boating industries in the funding of this project, as divers offer the only current method to reduce the negative impact of the materials they use and dispose of in our waterways.

4. Work with marine patrol officials and waterway professionals to locate derelict and abandoned vessels, determine ownership, contact those legal owners and engage them financially to assist in the cleanup.

MCII hopes to spread the necessity of this project through websites, blogs, and networking to rescue our waterways and critters from our own best intentions.

We thank all the dive shops, divers, deck hands and boat owners that volunteer in this most important project. Without their efforts, our progress would be far less. We acknowledge the understanding and patience of the boating public for giving way the few hours each year that our divers are in the water cleaning up.

Fort Pierce Inlet Cleanup - 2008

2009-04-22T19:40:00.001-04:00

Sebastian Cleanup Dive - 2005

2009-04-22T17:53:00.004-04:00

Sebastian Inlet Cleanup - 2004

2009-04-21T21:20:00.000-04:00