Once again the community banded together for a successful beach and dive site clean up on Sairee Beach, Koh Tao. Crystal Dive and Eco Koh Tao hosted more than 30 keen ecodivers helping to preserve our local environment.

The day was led by IDCS and Environmental Awareness manager Nathan Cook and MSDT Iain Johnston who provided expert guidance and direction on the day.

Newly certified Open Water Diver enjoying making a difference on our clean up day

During our clean ups all of our divers are given through briefings about what to and what not to bring up during their dive thus helping them to learn about the ecology of the marine environment. Most of the rubbish collected on Koh Tao ends up as landfill on nearby clearings which for a small island is less than ideal. So divers are directed to think a  little objectively about the rubbish they collect. If something is already down there, will not leak any toxic materials (like batteries) and has already caused its damage, then maybe it is best to leave it underwater. For example glass bottles make up a large proportion of things found but now we leave most of them down there figuring the habitat and adequate substrate they provide makes them a valuable addition to the reef providing homes for gobies and other small fish and a solid base for growing corals.

Beginners are instructed not to approach delicate corals or try to get too involved in the process of rubbish collecting as their buoyancy control is still a restricting factor.

All groups are led by experienced dive leaders many of who have undertaken Reef Check Ecodiver training with Eco Koh Tao and are able to provide more in depth knowledge of some of the environmental issues facing our tiny island.

To finish the dive some of the divers were lucky enough to see a turtle making it an all round successful day on Koh Tao.