Underwater cleaning – Pogled u modro.

During the last weekend, 14 and 15 April 2018, our association took part in a weekend eco-action for the cleaning of the underwater and coastline in Murter and Žut, as part of the project “Pogled u modro” financed by INA d.d. through the Greenbelt program.

20 divers attended the event, from the Diving Center Sv. Roko from Bibinje, the Diving Club Geronimo from Zagreb, and the Rostrum Underwater Activities Association from Split. On the first day of the action together with the Utility Company Murtela, we cleaned the underwater and shore of the newly built Murter Beach Luke. The location was chosen precisely because of further investment in this beach planned by the Murter-Kornati Municipality and therefore it is important that the underwater of this beach is clean.

The seabed of the beach was quite clean, the waste found mostly related to rubber and glass packaging.

The situation at Hramina harbor was unfortunately much worse. The divers found a lot of waste in the part most used by ships and, for this purpose, a bigger action should be organized, and it should be regularly repeated year after year to improve the situation. Most important, it would be necessary to change and eradicate the bad habits of people with the marine environment such as the disposal into the sea of rubber that had been used as a fender.

On the second day, we cleaned the Strunac cove on the island of Žut, which is part of the Zutko-isthmus of the Kornati Archipelago, protected by the category of “significant landscape”. There was not much left at that location, we were glad and we hope it will stay like that. A bigger problem is the microplastic and small parts of the plastic on the beaches, which were almost impossible to clean because they break into small pieces.

At the end of each day of the eco-action, we collected 1,5m cubic meters of waste from the selected submarine sites and so much was collected on the shore, which is a total of 6m cubic waste.

Thanks to diving clubs, whose members have volunteered, UPA Rostrum Split, Ronilacki Club Geronimo and RK Sv. Roko and to the Murtela Municipal Joint Undertaking, also the Public Institution Nature Šibensko Knin County, Kornati National Park, Murter-Kornati Municipality, Ardura Travel and Konobi Bain on Yellow (Stipe Kozulic) to support the action.

Sponsored by #INA through the #Zelenipojas program