Muscat: As part of the World Oceans Day celebrations, fishing nets trapped in the coral reefs of the Dimaniyat Islands have been removed. Many people took part in the clean-up drive. Nine divers and other volunteers worked for more than two hours to remove the plastic trapped in the coral reefs.
Meanwhile, the team was able to retrieve the fish trapped in the net at a depth of 10 meters. More than 200 kg of nets trapped in coral reefs were collected adventurously from the lap of the sea. According to the World Wildlife Fund, an average of 500,000 to 1 million tons of fishing gear is dumped at sea each year. In 2018, Earth.Org estimates that up to 650,000 marine life is killed each year by abandoned nets.
“Omanis have a unique relationship with water and it is our responsibility to protect the thousands of marine life that live in the sea and on land,” he said. Khamis al-Jabri said. The Ocean Day celebration was organized in collaboration with Sea Oman, an Oman SAIL sister company, the official logistics provider, DB Schenger Oman, and the Environment Society of Oman (ESO) and the Environment Authority.
Sea Oman provided power boats, diving equipment, diving experts and cutting tools to support the volunteers.
The Environment Authority avoided the cost of visit permits and assisted in the removal of nets.