Coming Clean
Cleanup crews take to Cane Garden Bay
I’ve lived in Cane Garden Bay for more than two years—and I can’t think of anywhere else in the Virgin Islands I’d rather be. The cozy community provides all the necessities and beauties I could ask for. But its plentiful splendors are no secret. Hoards of tourists head down to the popular travel destination by rental car, safari bus or by boat every day, and the environmental impact has fallen just short of devastating. However, those that love the beach and the environment that supports it are far from letting go of the tropical gem.
Last month, a few dozen residents, tourists and business owners combined and took to the waters of Cane Garden Bay to assist in the first annual Underwater Beach Clean-up, sponsored by Myett’s, the BVI Tourist Board and several local dive companies. Some SCUBA’d and others snorkeled, with the intent of cleaning trash from the seabed that hosts dozens of charter boats and thousands of beach dwellers on a weekly basis.
Event organizer and Myett’s Garden Grill chef Don Schoenberg said he participated in the beach cleanup with the intent of not only removing trash from the seabed but also to make an example for others.
“Yeah, we’ll get the debris out of here, and that should allow the fish to come back and should make the water clearer, but we want people to know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Schoenberg said, against the backdrop of 16 charter boats moored in the bay. “We did this on a Wednesday because we were hoping that the boats out here would see us cleaning the water and they’d think twice before throwing something overboard; most of the litter here is coming from these boats, and sometimes the only way to get someone to stop something is by rubbing their nose in it.”
The event not only helped to sweep the ocean floor, but it also netted a nice donation for Project AWARE Foundation, a growing movement of international SCUBA divers that are similarly involved in seabed cleanups. Half of the proceeds from the pig roast and beach party sponsored by Myett’s will also go to an upcoming summer cleanup at Cooper Island. As of press time, the time and date of the Cooper cleanup were unavailable.
Local SCUBA companies and divers were equally involved in the cleanup, and donated their time and equipment to more than a dozen participants. Among them, Sail Caribbean, UBS Dive Centre, Dive BVI and Jost Van Dyke SCUBA Centre lined the beachfront eager to help out. While diving, the teams were also able to trap or shoot a total of 40 lionfish, the beautiful yet treacherous invasive creature that is wreaking havoc on reef ecosystems in the Caribbean. Some of the lionfish were handed over to chef Schoenberg, who shaved off their poisonous spines, lightly seasoned them, and cooked them up into delicious samples for participants. I’d compare lionfish to that of a light tilapia or mahi texture and taste—perfected with squeeze of lemon and a dash of seasoning.
Dive BVI instructor Maron Napier was on hand to participate in what would be at least her 20th cleanup. Such exercises, she said, are “very significant” to seabed upkeep—especially at a highly travelled beach like Cane Garden Bay.
“You’ve got to remember that marine life—like octopus, for example—that eat things like fishing line, plastic cups and other trash that will kill them,” she said as she sorted through three large mounds of varied trash on the beach. “It’s best to get [trash] out as soon as we can—it let’s the people on the beach know what a problem it really is.”
As cleanup teams sorted through trash, everything from the expected cups and beer bottles to more shocking items like umbrellas, barbeques and both male and female unmentionables made their way from the ocean basin to what would soon be an appropriate dumping ground. Local SCUBA members of Aware said they would share their findings with the foundation to document the type of rubbish making its way to the ocean belly. Most of these odd items either fall from the charter boats or are carelessly left on the beach to be washed away. During a heavy cruiseship and mooring day, the beachside spectacle was enough to get some people thinking twice before dumping their odd items overboard.
