Acapulco (Mexico), March 27 (EFE) – More than a year – 17 months – after the devastating passage of Hurricane Otis, divers from Acapulco (southern Mexico), a beach resort still suffering from the storm, continue to clean the seabed of Roqueta Island. They removed two tons of fiberglass debris from glass-bottom boats, a tourist attraction.
About 25 divers cleaned both Caletilla Beach and Roqueta Island, where they had removed some pieces and debris from the boats weeks earlier.
In statements to EFE, the president of the Playas Unidas Caleta y Caletilla cooperative, Rigoberto Palma Muñoz, said this Thursday that they decided to clean up the island because they already had a large amount of debris, especially on the seabed.
“We removed about two tons of boat debris from the island, which was destroyed in the hurricane, and we collected the trash, but it was time to remove it to clean the beach,” he commented.
The diver even stated that these pieces of trash are what they were able to remove at a depth of 10 meters and about 12 meters from the sand, but they can’t do more because they lack more professional equipment to do a better cleanup.
“We need equipment, oxygen tanks to be able to do the cleaning we’ve been doing more thoroughly, tanks, compensating vests, everything needed to go down and remove everything inside, because there is still some trash at depths of about 15 meters, but it can be lowered with better equipment,” he stated.
Other divers, like Juan de los Santos, who stayed at Caletilla Beach, cleaned part of the seabed with their equipment and the air in their lungs because that’s what they could do to remove materials like fiberglass.
“We focus on the beach, at about five or six meters deep, to remove the trash that ends up in the tourist area. Then there are the bottles, all the plastic, all the things left behind after a visit go into the sea. The waves carry them away, and everything has to be removed,” he mentioned.
The nautical service providers assure that despite the days and weeks, they continue to constantly remove trash, plastic bottles, glass, Styrofoam, and other products that are harmful to marine species.
“We remove a lot of glass bottles, beer bottles, plastics like forks and spoons—usually all the trash that comes with tourism, everything that comes for snacks, and we remove all that,” he noted.
The worker also explained that they are doing these cleanups with their limited equipment and “on their own.” The important thing is to help and improve the sea, especially so that tourists find the beaches clean.
“Our tools are fins, a mask, a snorkel, but more than anything, lung capacity and a lot (of heart)… I work in tourism to generate my income, but I’m also doing something for the environment, for the planet,” he explained.
The Easter holiday period is one of the most important for tourism, with hotel occupancy expected to exceed 80% in the nearly 15,000 available rooms and an arrival of 200,000 tourists. EFE
Source: lavanguardia
