June 17th was overcast with a light drizzle, but the cool, grey weather couldn't dampen our enthusiasm — today, BlueTrend rolled up its sleeves and headed out for a beach cleanup.
The Impact of Marine Debris
This beach cleanup event was organised by Rambo Dive and took place around the Waimushan Haixing Swimming Pool area. Before the event even officially began, several early-arriving volunteers were already picking up cigarette butts and litter with tongs. City Councillor Zhang Bingjun also came by to cheer everyone on.
Volunteers working hard to collect marine debris.
As the event kicked off, head coordinator Coach A-Paul said: "On shore, we'll mainly be clearing out the rubbish that's been washed by the waves into the breakwater rocks; the underwater debris will be handled by our divers going into the sea to retrieve it."
Coach A-Paul also shared that marine debris doesn't just affect the cleanliness of the shoreline — sometimes waves and currents drag fishing nets into the breakwater rocks surrounding the seabed, posing a serious threat to the ecosystem and to divers. That's why Rambo Dive has persisted with beach and ocean cleanups year after year: to maintain a safe marine environment for everyone.
Coach A-Paul giving the pre-dive briefing.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Under the planning of Rambo's coaching team and the leadership of Coach A-Paul, the divers entered the water one by one. BlueTrend noticed one diver was a little slower getting in, and upon asking discovered that although he had suffered a foot injury in an accident, he was determined to do his part for the ocean cleanup and insisted on participating all the way through. Once all the divers were in the water, Coach YOYO stood watch on the surface, keeping a lookout until everyone returned safely.
BlueTrend founder Spark joined Rambo Dive's Coach YOYO (in orange) to stand watch for the divers.
While the divers were heading into the water, the shore volunteers' beach cleanup was already in full swing. The volunteers appeared nimble as they clambered among the breakwater rocks picking up marine debris, but up close you could see they were already drenched in sweat from all the climbing up and down — yet not a single person complained. Everyone was focused on how to collect as much debris as possible. Items that were too far away or too difficult to reach were passed along in a chain to the nearest rubbish bag. The bags, weighed down with enormous amounts of marine debris, often required 3–4 men to haul them up the long flights of stairs. While accompanying the haulers, BlueTrend overheard other volunteers cheering them on: "Keep going — a man who can carry the rubbish is the coolest man around!" BlueTrend couldn't agree more!
To retrieve every piece of marine debris, volunteers climbed tirelessly up and down the rocks.
Director Yuan Xu-Hu from Hairen Productions joined everyone in hauling marine debris ashore.
As Coach YOYO called the divers back to shore, BlueTrend saw every single person coming up with hands full to the brim. One diver even managed to bring up a tyre, while the diver who had previously been struggling with his injury returned with an impressively large piece of scrap metal. Coach A-Paul and his dive buddy even carried a huge bundle of pipes out of the water together, a testament to Coach A-Paul's remarkable underwater leadership — every one of them was a true ocean cleanup warrior.
Diver Geng Ming was immensely proud of himself for managing to bring a tyre up from the ocean floor.
Despite limited mobility, he brought up a massive piece of scrap metal through sheer determination — BlueTrend was in awe.
Coach A-Paul and his dive buddy worked together to carry a massive bundle of pipes ashore.
Over 30 people took part in this beach cleanup, and the marine debris they collected piled up like a small hill. It was hard work, but every face was beaming — as radiant as warriors returning triumphant from battle!
As the skies over Waimushan cleared, it felt as though the ocean itself was saying thank you.
After all the marine debris had been cleared away, the skies began to clear too — as if the ocean was showing its joy and quietly whispering a thank-you to everyone.
Organiser:
Co-organisers:
- Hairen Productions
- 123 Underwater Lab
- BlueTrend
- Keelung Waimushan Sustainable Fisheries Care Association
- YUHSIN system Inc
- Shen Zhu Underwater Wandering
- City Councillor Shi Weizheng
- City Councillor Zhang Bingjun
Further Reading:
- 【NCCU Diving Club】Reflections on a Beach Cleanup: A Little Inconvenience for Us Means Infinite Opportunity for the Ocean
- The Beach Cleanup That Redefined the Direction of Life – Love Taiwan in Action: Chen Xin-Zhu
- "Roll Up Your Sleeves for the Ocean" – A Dive x BlueTrend Keelung Island Beach Cleanup in Action
![[Bending Down for 825] A Group of Divers Taking Action to Protect Taiwan's Macro Diving Mecca](/_astro/DSC_6308_M2oaq.webp)
