Venice Pier is spotless: Suncoast Reef Rovers are keeping it clean

The entire Gulf beach under the Venice Fishing Pier is clean thanks to the work of the Suncoast Reef Rovers of Venice and their many friends. A team of divers and helpers descended on Brohard Beach on Saturday July 15, 2017 to remove underwater debris from a spot that is very popular with families, fishers and beach lovers.

Thanks to the many groups who helped, including Florida Underwater Sports, Sarasota Bay Watch, Venice Police, Venice Police Citizen Volunteers, Sharky’s Restaurant, Reelcycle, the City of Venice and NAUI Green Diver. It was a fun group of people who enjoyed good company and perfect weather during the event.

The good news is that the pier was pretty clean. The divers had to search to find debris – and they got ALL of it. Wow! There were 27 SCUBA divers assisted by 24 “topsiders” on land, 4 student volunteers, and three boats.

Interesting marine debris was found such as sunglasses, a guitar pick, $20, a man’s ring, and a cell phone along with the more typical stuff - anchors, traps, rope, knives, lures, line, and rods & reels that altogether added up to 141 pounds of waste.

The successful event concluded with a generously discounted selection of delicious lunches provided by Sharky’s on the Pier.

The water was clear, Florida Underwater Sports brought the doughnuts and the divers even found a few sharks teeth.