Divers for the Environment December 2021

Page 7

NEWS

DIVE TOGETHER CAMPAIGN:

KEEPING KHALIFA PORT CLEAN BY KATHLEEN RUSSELL – MAHARA DIVING CENTER

Abu Dhabi Terminals organised another underwater clean-up with divers at Khalifa Port on the 3rd of November. This date was also the UAE’s National Flag Day and showing our pride for the UAE, we had 35 volunteers take part in the Khalifa Port underwater cleanup. The event was organised by Abu Dhabi Terminals in partnership with Abu Dhabi Ports Company and Al Mahara Diving Center, and supported by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, Emirates Diving Association, PADI AWARE Foundation, and the Abu Dhabi Female Diving Group. The clean-up was conducted inside the container terminals along the terminal walls. The dedicated divers had to have deep diving and good navigational skills for this clean-up as they descended to the 19m of sandy/silty seabed. The divers were delighted to report the seabed was reasonably clean as they pulled up just over 35kg of marine debris of mainly single-use plastics within one hour. Statistically, there was an improvement in the amount of debris collected since the last underwater clean-up. The marine debris may have entered the water from the wind blowing the debris, or from the tidal movement in the open water. Some divers saw some marine life such as hammour and yellow bar angelfish along the container walls. Committed local divers are helping to keep the UAE’s marine environment free of debris and contribute to the largest global underwater database in the world, PADI AWARE’s Dive Against Debris. To reduce marine debris by 50% in targeted countries by 2030, we need everyone working together at local, national and international levels to achieve the United

Nations’ SDG#14 goals. As part of the global diving community, we need to combat marine debris. More than 250 million tons of plastic are estimated to make its way into our ocean by 2025. The environmental damage caused by plastic debris alone is estimated at US$13 billion a year. Divers are often at the frontline to witness human impacts on the marine environment and are uniquely positioned to help report, remove and advocate to stop marine debris at its source. As the Emirate’s main container port operator, Abu Dhabi Terminals is committed to protect and preserve the ecological marine environment at Khalifa Port – not only for the employees, customers and stakeholders but also for future generations.

KATHLEEN RUSSELL PADI Course Director/Starguard Elite Instructor Trainer AL MAHARA DIVING CENTER Tel: +971 56 535 8883 www.divemahara.com Find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @DiveAbuDhabi

DECEMBER 2021 | DIVERS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

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Articles inside

How to Improve Your Diving Safety and Performance

16min
pages 90-93

Minke Magic on the Great Barrier Reef

8min
pages 82-89

Feeling Down – Can I Dive?

6min
page 94

Socotra

5min
pages 78-81

Getting into Underwater Photography

10min
pages 72-77

Enter Digital Online 2022

17min
pages 66-71

Diving Into the Gift of Choice

8min
pages 62-65

My Buddy

7min
pages 58-61

The North Norfolk Chalk Reef

7min
pages 52-57

Your Eyes, Your Data

7min
pages 46-51

Working to Make a Difference with the Manatees of Belize

3min
pages 40-45

Feature Creature

26min
pages 34-39

Reef Check Contributes to Newly Released Status of Coral Reefs of the World Report

3min
page 32

Reef Check Malaysia

8min
pages 30-31

The Pink Mask Story Series

8min
pages 26-29

Adaptability of PADI’s Diving Programme

4min
page 19

PADI’s Christmas Gift Guide

5min
pages 20-21

My Passion for Scuba Diving

8min
pages 24-25

An Eco-Warriors Clean-up

2min
pages 22-23

EAD Launches a New Series of Podcasts

4min
page 18

In Alignment with UAE Government Vision

8min
pages 16-17

EDA Co-Founder’s Note

2min
page 5

EPAA Reports High Levels of Marine Debris in Four Species of Sea Turtles in Sharjah

5min
pages 10-11

Dive Together Campaign

2min
page 7

EPAA Investigates Mass Stranding of Sea Snakes in the Arabian Gulf

3min
page 12

An EDA Movie Screening

1min
pages 8-9

EAD and ENGIE Launch Phase 20 of the Mangrove Rehabilitation Project Using Drone Technologies

3min
page 15

The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi

3min
page 13

EAD Monitors One of the Rarest Blue Holes

2min
page 14
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