Divers from a St. Petersburg company pulled 300 to 400 pounds of trash from the water off Treasure Island in early July, swimming through fishing line, plastic bags and food wrappers left behind after Fourth of July celebrations.
Jarrett Maryon, founder of Misting Monsoon Diving, led the underwater effort in collaboration with Treasure Island Adopt-A-Beach, whose surface volunteers separately collected 450 pounds of debris in 90 bags the same weekend, according to Fox 13.
"I wanted to do more than just clean boat bottoms," Maryon told the St. Pete Catalyst on July 24. "When I'm in the water, I see debris, fishing line, plastic bags and all sorts of other stuff. It's not only an eyesore, but it impacts the local waterways and all of the marine life in the water."
Maryon, a PADI-certified diver and PADI AWARE instructor, launched Misting Monsoon Diving to provide hull cleaning and underwater video inspections. He announced July 24 that the company will now offer free underwater debris removal for any community beach cleanup in Pinellas County, through a partnership with the PADI AWARE Foundation.
Chief Operating Officer Patrick "PT" Collins said much of what divers found was plastic. "That's a big deal because the fish eat it, and right now we're in sea turtle nesting season," Collins said.
Pinellas County's sea turtle nesting and hatching season runs May 1 through Oct. 31, and plastic debris poses a direct threat to loggerheads, the most common nesting species in the county. Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which monitors about 21 miles of north Pinellas beach, reported 271 nests in 2024, up from 227 in 2023, though many active nests were later washed out by hurricanes.
Collins said the company wants to partner with beach communities and government leaders countywide. No north Pinellas dates have been announced, but the next cleanup is planned for after Treasure Island's Labor Day festivities in September. A specific date has not been set.
The team also contributes citizen science data through PADI AWARE's Dive Against Debris program, which has logged more than 2.5 million pieces of debris globally. The company is also building a statewide directory connecting divers with conservation groups.
Upcoming community events
- Saturday, Aug. 1 — Beach cleanup at Sunset Beach Pavilion, 8000 W. Gulf Blvd., Treasure Island, 8 a.m. Hosted by St. Pete SUP with Keep Pinellas Beautiful and Treasure Island Adopt-A-Beach.
- September (date TBA) — Post-Labor Day underwater cleanup at Treasure Island, hosted by Misting Monsoon Diving.
