Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Divers off Cornwall join global effort to clean seas for World Oceans Day

They removed beach litter, including a vape and plastic water bottles, as well as debris from fishing nets, under the water at Mullion Cove.

Tom Wilkinson
Thursday 08 June 2023 12:11 BST
Divers heading under the water at Mullion Cove Harbour (Hidden Sea/Zero Co/PA)
Divers heading under the water at Mullion Cove Harbour (Hidden Sea/Zero Co/PA) (PA Media)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Divers removed plastic from the Cornish seabed and joined teams from all over in a global clean up for World Oceans Day.

They removed beach litter, including a vape and plastic water bottles, as well as debris from fishing nets under the water at tourist hotspot Mullion Cove.

They were part of a 40-strong global crew who took to the world’s seven oceans, across seven time zones, to pull plastic pollution from the sea.

Over the course of the day, they aim to remove the equivalent of 50,000 plastic bottles from the sea, as part of the 100YR Clean Up initiative, led by Zero Co and The Hidden Sea wine company, which funds clean ups through sales.

Hidden Sea co-founder Jason Moran took part in the Cornish dive and said: “We’re on a high because to clean all seven seas is nothing short of epic.

“But I also know my fellow divers around the world will face similar depressing underwater scenes today.

“The problem is out of control. We need to get behind efforts to reverse the tide.

“I hope that sharing what we’ve witnessed in the ocean will inspire people to join us in taking action. “I dived in the beautiful tourist destination of Mullion Cove and even though the water looked inviting from the surface, it was sad to see what was hiding under the water.

“It shows how deeply-rooted the plastic problem is.”

Diving crews were also deployed to the Pacific Ocean from Sydney, Australia; the Arctic Ocean at Great Slave Lake, Canada; the South Atlantic Ocean at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Indian Ocean at Rushikonda beach, India; the Southern Ocean at Chubut, Argentina; and The Red Sea, at Hurghada, Egypt.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in