The Muskoka Scuba Team is a scuba diving group created out of the Scuba Shack in Gravenhurst. They go for dives together every Thursday during the summer and for a special dive on New Year’s. They decided to organize and execute the clean-up after seeing a need for it during their weekly dives. 

“As we were going on these dives, we could see just how poorly our lakes are being treated,” said team member Kaitlyn Hamilton in a written statement. “While we will continue to dive every Thursday evening in the summer, we hope that the clean-up dive will raise awareness throughout the Muskoka region and encourage others to join us [to] clean up our local lakes!”

Hamilton was in the water during the dive and acted as divemaster. She is the co-leader of the team and an “all-around great addition to Scuba Shack,” said owner Jane Mark.

With help from the Huntsville Rotary Club and Algonquin Outfitters, the scuba team spent a couple of hours removing trash from the water. Volunteers organized by the Rotary Club sorted, catalogued and disposed of the items found.

“We are more inspired than ever with how much trash was pulled within the two hours that the Muskoka Scuba team were in the water,” Hamilton said. “Items like sinks, shopping carts, bicycles, skateboards, a lot of bottles, wrappers, and more were found and brought to the surface to be disposed of.”

The team logged the clean-up as part of Dive Against Debris, a citizen-science program that has divers collect marine trash and report data on what they collect. The program is under the umbrella of the nonprofit organization PADI AWARE, which focuses on global ocean conservation.

The Muskoka Scuba Team hopes to clean up at least one location a year, possibly more. They want to extend special thanks to Algonquin Outfitters, Adrian Musters and the rest of the Rotary Club.

Plans for the next clean-up dive are still underway, so until then, they invite anyone interested in diving to tag along on their next outing.

“Although we sell memberships, you do not have to be a member,” she said. “We encourage anyone who is a diver to come join us! The whole reason we started the team was just to get divers together throughout the community – locals and tourists – out for a dive.”

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If you have information on this incident please contact Conservation Officer David Murphy at 705-646-5507.  You can also report a resource violation or provide information about an unsolved case, by calling call the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667 or contact your local ministry office. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Conservation officers continue to patrol and protect our natural resources during the current COVID 19 outbreak and would like to remind everyone that by respecting seasons, sanctuaries, bag and possession limits we all help ensure our natural resources stay healthy. Visit Ontario’s website to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19.

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