International Beach Clean Up Day


Planet Scuba India is proud to have participated in its very first International Cleanup Day event in Turtle Bay. Being a Go ECO Project Aware member and operator, PSI took the first steps into helping the environment.

At least 6 million tonnes of debris enters the world’s oceans each year, causing harm to underwater environments and wildlife. With unique access to the underwater world, scuba divers can help remove debris underwater, raise awareness and drive positive change. Project AWARE Foundation is dedicated to addressing the devastating impacts of marine debris and coordinates global beach and underwater cleanups year round.

International Cleanup Day is the biggest underwater cleanup of its kind. Held annually on the 3rd Saturday in September each year, more than 370,000 volunteers clean over 33,000 miles of shoreline to remove seven million pounds of rubbish.

This year in India David Perry, Operations Manager and instructor at Planet Scuba India registered with Project AWARE and visited Turtle Bay for the cleanup. Joining hands with Turtle Bay Resort Kundapur they initiated the beach clean up. They were helped by participants from FSL (Field Study Learn) an NGO, International students from Germany, Australia and Switzerland, many local kids, teens from the local Youth Club, members from the local church and patrons of the Lions Club. Close to 60 participants helped clean the local beach by picking up litter.

Dominic a PSI representative said the litter they picked up could have filled an entire tempo van. With almost 150 bags of rubbish consisting mostly of plastic bags, glass bottles, shoes and other forms of trash.

It was not all work with no fun, participants had a fun round of beach volleyball to reward themselves for their hard work. Turtle Bay Resort sponsored food and drinks for the participants.

It is through events like this that PSI hopes to spread awareness about protecting our eco system and to lead people with a hands on approach to protect our earth. It is important for people to come together as a community and start making International Beach Clean Up, not only a yearly event but hopefully a monthly event in all parts of the world.

Safeguarding The Marine Ecosystem The Planet Scuba Way


“The sea is everything… It is an immense desert where man is never alone for he feels life, quivering around him on every side.”

— JULES VERNE
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea


Marine ecosystems cover approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and contain approximately 97% of the planet’s water.

Why is aquatic ecosystem health important to humans? Because everything is connected, where an ecosystem is out of balance eventually humans will begin to suffer as well. Our health and many of our activities are dependent on the health of aquatic ecosystems. Most of the water that we drink is taken from lakes or rivers. If the lake or river system is unhealthy, the water may be unsafe to drink or unsuitable for industry, agriculture, or recreation – even after treatment.

The proliferation of non-native species has created problems. One recent example is the rapidly expanding zebra mussel population. Zebra mussels have few natural predators, and because the female can produce 30000 eggs yearly, they are expected to spread throughout most of the freshwater systems. This mussel species is already clogging industrial and municipal water treatment intake pipes, coating boats and piers, and causing beach closures.

Because we share the world with many other species of plants and animals, we must consider the consequences of our actions. Over the past several decades, increasing human activity has rapidly destroyed or polluted many ecological habitats throughout the world. It is important to preserve all types of biomes as each houses many unique forms of life. However, the continued heavy exploitation of certain biomes, such as the forest, freshwater, and marine, may have more severe implications.

We at Planet Scuba recognize the threats to the marine ecosystem and realize that awareness about these threats is minimal in India. Through our diving courses, we hope to make the whole experience fun and educative, and ensure that people can appreciate the natural beauty in abundance in our oceans and follow appropriate measures to safeguard them.