Plastic pollution has become a severe problem along India’s coastline, and one diving instructor from the city of Pondicherry, southern India says cleaning plastic debris from the ocean bed has become his "daily job."
"We don’t have one day in a year when we don’t clean plastic debris from the ocean beds, particularly after rainfall. Once every month we call volunteers to help the clean-up drive," says scuba diving instructor, SB Aravind.
"We also clean the so-called haunted nets - fishing nets that were abandoned by the fisherman becomes a haunted place for the fishes."
Shocking footage from February 2019 shows Aravind collecting wrappers and bags, which can be seen everywhere, displaying the damage that humans are doing to the world’s ocean and marine life.
He explained: “Plastic bags look like jellyfish to turtles and they prey and eat them, taking away the turtles life. Likewise, many turtles and the crabs get struck in the abandoned fishing nets and die. Only a few lucky ones have been saved by us when we go diving or cleaning.
"We are working to restore biodiversity. Keeping the ocean beds free from plastic is as important as keeping the land away from plastic."
Aravind is currently collaborating with the local forest department to construct an artificial reef, as a so-called safe haven for the fishes.
