BBC Countryfile presenter Matt Baker took part in an underwater litterpick organised by a group of Ammanford scuba divers.
The popular TV celebrity, who also co-hosts The One Show with Alex Jones, spent a day filming with members of the Ammanford branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) as they cleared litter from the Swansea Bay seabed.
Their dedicated clear up, which retrieved tin cans, bottles, fishing weights, line, nets and plastic bags, will be shown in an episode of the prime time Sunday night TV show on September 1.
Matt said: “”It was quite an eye-opener for me going out with Colin and the Ammanford divers, seeing the sheer amount of rubbish they haul up from the depths.
“They’re a great bunch – really dedicated to keeping our seas clean and tidy – and with the sun shining and a lot of laughs on-board, we all had a really lovely day”.
Ammanford BSAC’s Diving Officer, Colin Whitehall, said the experience has been unforgettable and had been a great way to mark the diamond jubilee of BSAC.
BSAC is the national governing body for scuba diving and is made up of family friendly, sociable clubs and dive centres, such as Ammanford, which are all over the UK and abroad.
It trains and represents 30,000 active scuba divers and snorkellers and works closely with organisations such as Marine Conservation Society to raise awareness of important issues facing the world’s seas and oceans.
Colin said: “Matt Baker was such a lovely man and had time for everyone and it was a pleasure to be in his company. Countryfile is preparing a report on the damage to wildlife from litter and debris left on beaches and underwater around the UK.
“BSAC runs an annual Underwater Litterpick campaign and we did our underwater litterpick to coincide with a National Trust beach clean-up that was taking place at Rhossili on the Gower Coast.
“We collected a lot of fishing tackle and waste, from weights to hooks and line and discarded old nets, all of which can have a massive effect on marine life in Swansea Bay.
“As a club we tend to dive around the coast more than in-land so don’t come across so many old sinks and car tyres that our colleagues tend to find away from the coast.
“Most of what we find is tin cans and plastic bottles that have been thrown from boats along with fishing debris.
“The damage that can be done to marine life is immense. In fact we have released all sorts of fish that have become trapped in nets and only last year a club diver came across a smooth-hound, a member of the shark family, that was trapped in old netting.”
Mary Tetley, BSAC Chief Executive said: “Colin and his fellow members at Ammanford BSAC worked really hard to make the Countryfile filming a success.
“It will be terrific to see their efforts recognised on such a high profile and respected BBC programme. It is a great way for us to share our concerns about a man-made problem which can have such a devastating impact on the very precious marine life which exists in UK waters.”
Colin added: “Matt Baker stayed onboard a hard boat and provided commentary but we did have a BBC underwater cameraman in the water with us.
“Unfortunately, the visibility wasn’t the best but we still found a huge amount of debris and waste in a relatively short period of time.
“Taking part in an underwater litterpick is a great way to celebrate the Diamond Anniversary of BSAC. However, it is something we do quite often anyway and, like most responsible divers, we also try to remove any debris we come across while out diving.
“I think it’s very much a case of out of sight out of mind for a lot of people who throw rubbish into the sea. But just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there and isn’t causing huge damage to the environment and marine life in general.”
He added: “We try to recycle the rubbish we find and in fact we melt down fishing weights and turn them into diver weights for new club members and divers which helps make the sport cheaper for new trainees.
“And we have been contacted by a few lobster fishermen who have lost pots and have asked us to help recover them. We’d always prefer to help find the pots than leave them to cause damage to the marine environment.”
Colin says the Ammanford Club is a thriving club with around 23 active diving members.
He said: “Our chairman, Nigel Rees, actually formed the club back in 1997. Nigel is in his early 70s now and doesn’t dive any more but he is still a very, very active club member and gives nothing less than 100 per cent support. If we hold an event you can be sure Nigel will be there.
“He had a wonderful time today chatting with Matt Baker and everyone taking part in the underwater litterpick.”
He added: “As a club, members come from all walks of life. We have company directors, office workers, warehouse staff, electricians – quite a few electricians actually – HGV drivers and bank workers.
“Members come from a wide area including one or two from as far a-field as Bristol as well as Port Talbot.
“I think we are a popular club as we have a very active dive programme and welcome divers joining us from other BSAC clubs on weekend dives we arrange.
“Our eldest active diving member is in his late 50s while our youngest member is 14. Her parents don’t dive but are very supportive and drop their daughter off for dives and are always there waiting when we get back.
“We do use the pool at Amman Valley Leisure Centre in Ammanford between January and March for training and we dive right through the year, mainly around the Pembrokeshire coast.
“We do use some in-land waters for training too. As a club we did 32 try dives last year and have increased club membership by 50 per cent as a direct result.
“Our six newest trainees are doing exceptionally well with two having just qualified as Ocean Divers and the other four are really close to passing too.
He added: “We are certainly in a privileged position to see the damage caused by underwater rubbish and pollution.
“It’s been a fantastic day working alongside the Countryfile team and I hope the televised report raises awareness of the damage to our precious marine life from discarded rubbish.
“I also hope people get a feeling for what we do as a club and it gets a few people interested in taking up diving as a sport.
“There’s no better feeling than spending time in a hidden world and seeing all the wonderful life that it contains.”
To learn more about Ammanford Sub Aqua Club, email [email protected] or call 07967 172532.
For more information about BSAC go to www.bsac.com
