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Dive Against Debris Data Submission

Ifira Point

19 January, 2019

Team Leader
Chirstina Shaw
Number of Participants
11
Total Debris Collected
161 kgs (measured)

-17.754475875549, 168.29547746169

Survey Information

Location Name
Ifira Point
Organization/Dive Centre
Big Blue Vanuatu
City
Port Vila
Country
Vanuatu
Date
19 January, 2019
Survey Duration
44 Minutes
GPS Coordinates
Latitude: -17.754475875549
Longitude: 168.29547746169
Weather Conditions
Some wind and showers
Survey Depth Range
1–18 meters
Area Surveyed
2200 m2
Dominant Substrate
sand
Ecosystem
coral reef
Wave Conditions
Smooth (wavelets) for waves 0.1 - 0.5 meter high
plastic materials collected
Bags-grocery/retail (plastic) 2
Beverage Bottles: Less Than 2 Litres (plastic) 47
Bottles: Bleach/cleaner Bottles 1
Bottles: Oil/lube 2
Buckets, Drums & Jerrycans-2 Liters Or More 1
Caps & Lids (plastic) 1
Carpet (synthetic) 1
Cigarette Lighters 1
Cups, Plates, Forks, Knives, Spoons (plastic) 21
Fishing: Nets & Pieces Of Nets 3
Food Wrappers (plastic) 109
Mesh Bags: Fruit/vegetable/shellfish 1
Pipes (plastic-PVC) 1
Straws, Stirrers 1
Plastic Fragments 378
Strapping Bands (plastic) 5
Rope (plastic/nylon) 4
glass materials collected
Cups & Plates-tableware/dishes (glass & Ceramic) 1
Glass & Ceramic Fragments 35
Beverage Bottles (glass) 73
metal materials collected
Aerosol/spray Cans 1
Beverage Cans (aluminium) 152
Cans: Food/juice, Other (tin) 56
Caps & Lids (metal) 2
Metal Fragments 6
rubber materials collected
Tires/tyres 1
Rubber Fragments 1
cloth materials collected
Cloth Fragments 3
mixed materials collected
Clothing 5
Computer Equipment & Other Electronic Devices 3
Shoes-flip Flops, Sandals, Tennis, Etc 4
Toys 2
other materials collected
Flare 1
Disposable plastic razor 1
DVD cover plastic 1
ratchet tie down strap 1
sunglasses 1
base plate for sander 1
Cover for extractor fan 1

The domestic wharf in Port Vila is being upgraded. However the project has stalled. As a temporary measure the domestic ships have been using a barge in the corner of the harbour very close to Ifira point beach as the temporary "wharf". Resident have notice a considerable increase in the amount of rubbish accumulating on the beach at Ifira point since this arrangement has been in place.

Flare

beverage bottles and cans

Food wrappers

boat and household rubbish


This was part of cleanup demonstration project we completed with the Vanuatu Environmental Science Society and TierraMar under the UK Commonwealth Litter programme (CLiP). We cleaned up the beach and underwater once a week for 3 consecutive weeks to demonstrate how much rubbish is accumulating every week. A report of this project is available. Each week we collected rubbish along three 50 meter transects and calculated the amount of rubbish collected per sq m. The divers then collected some more debris from outside the transects as well. This report of rubbish collected is both the transect and out of transect data combined. This is the first week of rubbish collection. From the transects there was 311 pieces of litter 80% of it was plastic. We calculated there was 2.4 pieces of plastic every per sq meter.

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