On July 6th, freediver Stéphane Mifsud and his teams from theOdyssée Bleue conducted a series of dives in the bay of Port-Man, at Port-Cros, to collect waste present at the site.
Around thirty participants – freedivers, volunteers, and partners – gathered during this morning at sea. Heading to Port-Cros Island, in the heart of the national park, specifically the bay of Port-Man. A place highly appreciated by boaters, who anchor near its lovely beach for a few hours or several days.
At the entrance of the bay, the boats of this large team were greeted by an astonishing ballet of four devil rays (Mobula mobular), dancing near the surface, a magical moment before getting into the water.
For an hour and a half, the freedivers swam in pairs, trying to cover the entire surface of the bay, diving between 18 and 30 meters deep. They had to zigzag among the dozens of pleasure boats already present at the site. A small team was sent to the beach to find waste, which was ultimately and fortunately very minimal, while participants remaining on the boats received the waste collected from the freedivers’ marker buoys throughout the morning. They then placed them into large trash bins installed on board.
The goal of the operation is not to show that the national park’s seabeds are polluted; they are not, quite the opposite. « This waste is brought back to very specific points, explains Stéphane Mifsud, depending on currents, underwater topography, and traffic. We had done prior scouting in this bay for this operation, knowing we would find waste there« . Most consist of pieces of plastic or fabric, tires, glass bottles, and equipment or items lost by boats. They are not new waste; sometimes they are very old and have accumulated over the years and currents.
This cleanup campaign was part of the partnership between Stéphane Mifsud and the Sea Foundation as well as with the Suzuki brand for the Clean Ocean Project ! 187 kg of waste were brought up by the freedivers and then transported to a sorting center that morning. The freedivers of Stéphane Mifsud’s Odyssée Bleue club performed dozens of dives for this event, supported by several partners: Suzuki, Beuchat, Highfield, Gaport, Euro-Voiles, and the Eleau association.
opening image © Charles Richard dit Maugiron