On Saturday the 7th of May staff of local St. Maarten Dive Companies headed out to various reefs within the Man of War Shoal Marine Park to clean various coral reefs of debris and garbage. Various types of debris were collected, including several meters of fishing line, old anchors and plastic. The Nature Foundation Marine Park Patrol Vessel Yellowtail and Nature Foundation divers were also on hand to clean debris from reefs within the Man of War Shoal Marine Park. "The initiative for the underwater cleanup on the reefs within the Man of War Shoal Marine Park came from various dive operators who reported a large amount of debris on the dive sites while they were guiding their customers. Although this cleanup happened on short notice, various dive operators including Aquamania Dive Adventures and Dive Safaris, used their staff and their boats during their free time to cleanup our coral reefs", commented Tadzio Bervoets, Nature Foundation Marine Park Manager.The cleanups will occur on a regular basis, not only within the Marine Park but also on various other dive sites surrounding St. Maarten. Coral reefs are one of the islands most important natural resources and are both ecologically and economically valuable. They provide important habitat for reef fish, protect the shores from large damaging waves and storm surge, and provide a significant contribution to the tourism product of St. Maarten.
