San Diego Scuba Divers Participate in Scripps Canyon Volunteer Underwater Cleanup and Fish Census

SAN DIEGO - June 19, 2013 - PRLog -- On Sunday, June 16th, a group of 29 volunteer scuba divers, members of San Diego non-profit Power Scuba, gathered to participate in a beach and underwater cleanup day at Scripps Canyon in La Jolla, California.

Participants also carried out marine life surveys at Scripps Canyon to monitor and report on the health of the marine ecosystem in the underwater canyon. Monitoring programs collect data on key indicator species inhabiting California’s nearshore reefs in the interest of sustainable marine resource management. The collected data is then passed on to various entities for consideration and policy-advising purposes.

Scripps Canyon is a narrow submarine canyon with steep vertical walls that extend many hundreds of feet beneath the surface, well beneath the recreational diving limit of 130 feet. The sudden change in depth invites a host of diverse marine life into the canyon’s waters, including large pelagic animals such as whales. Because of its proximity to shore and to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, it is one of the better-studied submarine canyons.

This effort is part of Power Scuba’s continuing marine conservation efforts, which include beach and underwater cleanup events all along the coast of San Diego, as well as advocacy for Southern California Marine Protected Areas (MPA), shark fin ban efforts, sustainable seafood identification, and various other marine environmental activities.

Power Scuba is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to ocean stewardship and the preservation of our underwater environment. Comprised primarily of scuba divers, Power Scuba will educate the community, through outreach and programs, about the local underwater ecosystem which needs our help. The corporation will provide a means by which divers can be more active in scuba activities while they also become attuned to the plight the ocean currently faces. Certified divers can learn more about Power Scuba’s mission and events by visiting www.powerscuba.org.