Divers removed plastic from the Cornish seabed and joined teams from all over in a global clean up for World Oceans Day.
They removed beach litter, including a vape and plastic water bottles, as well as debris from fishing nets under the water at tourist hotspot Mullion Cove.
They were part of a 40-strong global crew who took to the world’s seven oceans, across seven time zones, to pull plastic pollution from the sea.
Over the course of the day, they aim to remove the equivalent of 50,000 plastic bottles from the sea, as part of the 100YR Clean Up initiative, led by Zero Co and The Hidden Sea wine company, which funds clean ups through sales.
Hidden Sea co-founder Jason Moran took part in the Cornish dive and said: “We’re on a high because to clean all seven seas is nothing short of epic.
“But I also know my fellow divers around the world will face similar depressing underwater scenes today.
“The problem is out of control. We need to get behind efforts to reverse the tide.
“I hope that sharing what we’ve witnessed in the ocean will inspire people to join us in taking action.
“I dived in the beautiful tourist destination of Mullion Cove and even though the water looked inviting from the surface, it was sad to see what was hiding under the water.
“It shows how deeply-rooted the plastic problem is.”
Diving crews were also deployed to the Pacific Ocean from Sydney, Australia; the Arctic Ocean at Great Slave Lake, Canada; the South Atlantic Ocean at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the Indian Ocean at Rushikonda beach, India; the Southern Ocean at Chubut, Argentina; and The Red Sea, at Hurghada, Egypt.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here