Divers pull debris from Shark River

For more than a decade, a group of volunteer divers have plunged into the Shark River once a year to sweep the waterway and remove whatever trash they can.

Saturday marked the 13th annual cleanup, and while much of the major debris has been hauled away over time, each year's foray below the surface still serves a purpose, said Joe Skimmons of Divers Two in Avon, which sponsors the event.

"The bulk items — things like benches, lawn chairs, bowling balls, that kind of stuff — have all been taken out over the years," he said while a group of about 30 divers suited up at the borough's municipal boat launch off L Street. "Today is more of an animal rescue, where we'll see a lot of lures and nets and things like that that kill fish and crabs and all the other marine life."

Since the first dive cleanup in 1995, the event has seen the removal of between 28,000 and 30,000 pounds of trash from Shark River. And the fact that the volume decreases more each year is a good sign, Skimmons said...[APP.com]