Divers have removed 7.5 kilograms of rubbish from St Bathans’ Blue Lake during a clean-up dive run last week. 

The dive was carried out by Dunedin-based Dive Otago, whose students travelled to Central Otago as part of the company’s summer school and instructor training courses. 

Dive Otago general manager Virginia Watson said the clean-up was inspired by PADI’s “Dive Against Debris” programme, aimed at removing and recording rubbish found in lake and coastal waters. 

“One of the cool things training here in Otago is that we can go up to the lakes and do some altitude diving, which is a little bit more technical,” Virginia said. 

The dive took place at an elevation of 540 metres, with students working at depths of up to 14 metres, mainly around the edges of the lake. 

Virginia said the group recovered a range of rubbish linked to recreational use of the lake, including stand-up paddleboard paddles, fishing gear, bottles and food packaging. 

“None of it looks like deliberate dumping,” she said.  

“It’s all misadventure - things ending up there.” 

Some of the 7.5 kilograms of rubbish pulled from the remote Central Otago lake. Image: Dive Otago

Some heavier items were brought to the surface using lift bags, allowing students to practise recovery techniques as part of their training. 

Virginia said one item stood out as more unusual than the rest - a metal object believed to be part of a chimney or ventilation unit.

She said documenting what was found was an important part of the process.

“If we keep going back to the same places, overtime we can start seeing whether there’s less rubbish, more rubbish, or different types of rubbish,” she said. 

She said Dive Otago tried to incorporate clean-ups into most of its training programmes.

The goal, she said, was to pass that ethic on to future instructors.

“Then wherever they go, they’ll know they can do similar activities,” she said.

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