HOLMES BEACH, Fla. — Veterans from Force Blue are teaming up with the NFL and Super Bowl LV to clean up debris in the Gulf of Mexico.
In honor of Super Bowl LV, 55 divers went into the water off the coast of Anna Maria Island to clear out debris that is hazardous to marine life.
Volunteers from Force Blue, the Florida Aquarium and NFL Green, with the help of FWC and “Pepsi Strong Together,” pulled nearly a ton of trash from near the Spanish Rocks Reef. Including plastic, cigarette butts, and dozens of abandoned crab traps with rope.
“These lines can sometimes go for miles, and it is an entanglement for manatees, for dolphins, for sea turtles. We’ve had many cases where they’ve been entangled, so it’s really critical that we clean these up off the reef,” said Debborah Luke with The Florida Aquarium.
Each year Force Blue veterans travel to coastal Super Bowl cities to use their diving skills to help clean up the water and beaches.
