08 Jun Success in Marine Debris Collection at Puerto Sherry: Over 225 Kilos Removed from the Seabed
This Sunday, June 7, 2026, the marina facilities in El Puerto de Santa María hosted a major environmental deployment. For the third consecutive year, the Cádiz dock joined the national initiative of the Marine Watchers Network (coordinated by the NGO Oceánidas), successfully extracting a significant amount of submerged waste thanks to the joint effort of volunteers and collaborating entities.
A Weekend Dedicated to Sustainability in the Bahía de Cádiz
The event, which ran parallel to the actions of more than 30 diving clubs across Spain, resulted in the recovery of 225.2 kilos of trash from the seabed and breakwaters of the port. This event proves once again that the synergy between the private sector, institutions, and civil society is the most effective tool to protect our coastline.
Extraction Breakdown: Waste Classification
To facilitate research and subsequent recycling, all extracted material was meticulously weighed and categorized. The breakdown of the day is as follows:
- Metal: 83.5 kilos.
- Plastic: 67.7 kilos.
- Glass: 38.5 kilos.
- Wood: 5.3 kilos.
- Other materials: 30.2 kilos.
The entire logistics of weighing, removing, and properly classifying the trash was made possible through the sponsorship of PUSAMA, a local expert in waste management that provided a specialized container for the event.
The Key Role of Volunteers and the Capitán Garfio Diving Club
The human operation was led by more than twenty members of the Capitán Garfio Association. Seven scuba divers were in charge of the dives in confined and low-visibility waters, while the rest of the team operated from the surface, cleaning the breakwater and surroundings.
Isabel Silvela, Director of Marketing and Sustainability at Puerto Sherry, highlighted the enormous merit of the participants who worked under high temperatures. Silvela noted that, given the ocean is the natural environment of the port, it is an institutional obligation to support these causes, emphasizing the transformative power of human will when companies and citizens unite for the good of the community.
Environmental Awareness on the Rise
Uwe Acosta Martín—president of the Capitán Garfio Diving Club in Rota and delegate of the Andalusian Federation of Underwater Activities—described this activity, which lasted just over an hour, as highly satisfactory. Acosta provided a very encouraging fact: analyses of the rescued garbage indicate that most of the current debris is dragged in by storms rather than resulting from direct negligence by port users. This shows that environmental awareness efforts are yielding real results.
Citizen Science and Social Aid: Beyond the Cleanup
Framed under the slogan “The unseen trash also counts”, this mobilization is not limited to tidying up the underwater landscape and preventing the proliferation of microplastics. It has two fundamental aspects that multiply its impact:
Research and Citizen Science: The detailed recording of each recovered object serves to create data maps on the origin and route of marine litter, helping authorities take better preventive measures.
Direct Solidarity: Thanks to an agreement between the Marine Watchers Network, Nueva Pescanova, and FESBAL (Spanish Federation of Food Banks), every kilo of scrap metal, plastic, or glass taken from the sea is automatically exchanged for food that will be allocated to families at risk of social exclusion.
