Washington Scuba Alliance returns to Point Defiance Marina for a record-breaking Earth Day underwater cleanup.

At most litter pickups the haul doesn’t usually include a rusty picnic table, a skateboard and several octopuses. But then, Washington Scuba Alliance’s Earth Day underwater cleanup at the Point Defiance Marina wasn’t your usual litter pickup.

Twenty volunteer divers and three more folks on shore support showed up early on the chilly spring morning to devote six hours to plunging 35 feet below the surface. The goal? Bring up as much as they could of the many trash items they knew were down in the water, harming marine and human life alike.

"Watch out, octopus coming through,” called Randi Weinstein, Alliance treasurer, as she moved through the crowd of curious park visitors with carefully cupped, gloved hands. Making her way to the big cooler filled with Puget Sound water, she gently tipped in a red octopus who’d stowed away in a diver’s goody-bag along with all the trash. Instantly the octopus inked a black cloud around the half-dozen crabs who’d been rescued out of old bottles and rusty fencing. Smiling, Randi went back for a couple more tiny octopuses slithering over the tarp.

Nearby, a teenager swooped onto the trash pile in glee. "That’s a perfectly good longboard!” they cried, testing it out.

And the picnic table? Well, that’s a whole other story.

Cleaning up the Salish Sea

"We do these dives to help protect our beautiful marine environment,” explained Jim Trask, Alliance president. "We did our first one here this time last year, and we only just scratched the surface – there’s a heck of a lot of trash that ends up in the water here. We love partnering with Metro Parks, and we want to come back as often as we can.”

Diving for trash is just one way the all-volunteer Washington Scuba Alliance has helped both Metro Parks and Puget Sound over the years. Back in 2005 they built a set of concrete steps leading into the water near Metro Parks’ Les Davis Pier, a popular dive site that until then only had a slippery rocky slope for water access. Now, an imprint of dive flippers clearly shows the steps’ purpose, and art tiles illustrate the vibrantly colored sea life visible in the depths.

More recently, the Alliance has been working with local government and officials to scan, map and remove an estimated half a million tires out of Puget Sound waters. Placed there in the 1970s by the Department of Natural Resources in an attempt to create artificial reefs, they are now leaching chemicals and breaking down to pollute the water and harm wildlife.  

In addition, the Alliance works around the Sound with partners to restore kelp and eelgrass beds, crucial for ocean life. They’ve helped create seven octopus protected areas and a rock-based artificial reef. They’ve removed old toxic creosote pilings, relocating the wildlife on them, and altogether pulled thousands of pounds of trash from the water since 1992. Last year alone they hauled up 810 pounds of trash at Point Defiance Marina.

And this year they were looking set to beat that record – with the help of the boathouse elevator and a picnic table or two.

Down to the Sea Floor

"All right, everyone – make sure you have a knife, there are lots of old fishing lines out there,” called Trask in the 8:30am dive safety briefing. "It’s about 25-30 feet deep. Sign in, sign out. Stay with your buddy. High tide is at 10am, and the visibility is spectacular. Go out there and have fun!”

  WA Scuba Alliance divers haul a rusted trash can up on the boat elevator at the Point Defiance Marina underwater cleanup.

One by one, divers geared up in dry suits, hoods, gloves and booties against the 48-degree water. Armed with knives to cut trash free, float lines to attach to heavy objects and snap-shut bags for smaller ones, they shuffled in groups onto the boat elevator. As they relaxed on the bench, Marina technician Art Tachell slowly lowered the floor chest-deep in the water. With just a few steps, the divers pushed off and began their descent.

"Easiest entry into the water anywhere!” smiled Trask. "And it’s perfect for divers with disabilities, too.”

Even better, it was also the easiest exit – especially with pounds of trash. After their hour of diving, each group floated bags, blocks, beams, even a Metro Parks garbage bin rusted out of all recognition onto the elevator floor from where they could easily be dragged over to the tarp and weighed. Squid jigs, fishing poles and tangled lines were common items, plus barnacle-encrusted bottles and plates, five tires, a couple of boat propellers, a floor mat, a broken dustpan, some chain link fencing and numerous bits of plastic and metal. 

"I found a Nokia phone and pager,” commented one diver wryly. "Pretty sure they don’t work anymore.”

All are threats to marine life, either from the chemicals they leak, their ability to strangle or starve curious animals, or their fatal lure as a home that growing sea creatures then can’t escape. 

"We really appreciate the volunteer divers from Washington Scuba Alliance,” says Joe Brady, deputy director of regional parks and attractions, who oversees the Marina. "Not only do they save us thousands of dollars in cleanup efforts, they protect our waters and wildlife, which in turn keeps us healthy.”

Divers also noted a wounded bull sea lion, massive in size but with an open gash on his neck, that was hovering unusually close to the marina. 

"Probably a boat propellor,” remarked Trask grimly. "We’ll call SR3, the animal search and rescue nonprofit, and see if they can help him.”

Then came the piece de resistance – the picnic table. Divers had seen at least two of them during the last cleanup and came prepared. Underwater, a team clipped float lines around the metal legs, then inflated the floats from their tanks. As the table slowly rose through the clear green water, they guided it onto the boat elevator. Rusted and ugly, it served as a symbol of how easily humans can pollute their world. Thanks to its bulk, the final trash tally came to 1,185 pounds – a record.

"Wow!” murmured park visitors who’d stopped by to watch. "Unbelievable, all this trash.”

Weinstein kept the conversation going, pointing to the Alliance’s information poster board and showing visitors the animals in the cooler who’d been harmed by the garbage.

"Education is a big part of what we do,” she said.

For other divers, though, it’s mostly about doing good for the planet.

"I wanted to give back to the community and thought that scuba could be a good way to do it,” explained Cody Aguon, doing his first dive cleanup since getting certified in February.

"Diving is amazing, and since the ocean is so good to me, I’m going to be good back,” added long-time diver Jim Minor.

"Having a clean environment is good for everyone, not just marine life,” said Nicole Nansel, who’s been diving for eight years. "Seventy percent of our planet is water, and we depend on it to survive. That’s a good enough reason to keep it clean.”

VOLUNTEER:  Washington Scuba Alliance encourages volunteers in project leadership, advocacy, restoration, dive conservation and education. Visit wascuba.org to learn more. To volunteer on land with Metro Parks, visit metroparkstacoma.org/volunteers.