NARC Environmental Diving

NARC AGM to be held on Feb 18th 1100 in Milford Haven

editor — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:21:00 +0000

Hi all. The NARC 2012 AGM is being held on Feb 18th @ 1100 hrs in the sail loft in Milford Haven (the same place as last year). If you need directions get in touch with me david.jones@mhpa.co.uk

I’m sure Dave K will bake some nice cakes again! You can download minutes of the last AGM here – NARC 2011 AGM Meeting Mins. You can download an agenda for the AGM here - NARC AGM Agenda Feb 2012

The Crown Estate provides funding boost for NARC

editor — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 23:15:33 +0000

Voluntary dive group, Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners, is celebrating a successful end of season with a funding boost from The Crown Estate. The generous funding will allow the Pembrokeshire based divers to develop a new website, purchase essential equipment such as new collection bags, and also carry out two clean-up events.

The Crown Estate is a property business, trusted to manage a wide range of properties, agricultural land, parkland, forestry and almost all the seabed around the UK. The voluntary dive group, known as NARC, discover a disturbing amount of rubbish on their regular clean ups, including ashtrays, cutlery, prams, fishing debris, traffic cones and shopping trolleys. The volunteers work hard to educate both tourists and locals on the damage marine litter can have on the underwater environment.

Chairman, Dave Kennard, comments: “We operate solely thanks to generous funding such as this. Without it, our excellent work could not continue. We have had a productive year and really looking forward to putting this donation to good use. Thanks to everyone at The Crown Estate who made this happen.”

Radio 4 joins NARC for clean-up dive at Skomer MNR

editor — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:01:35 +0000

The Radio 4 team joined us for a clean-up day @ Skomer MNR. To listen to the coverage click here

NARC and the Pembrokeshire Federation of Angling Coaches team up to produce tackle tips leaflet

editor — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:51:56 +0000

NARC and the Pembrokeshire Federation of Angling Coaches have teamed up to produce 2 ground breaking new leaflets aimed at providing tackle tips for anglers which will help reduce tackle loss. These site specific leaflets are focused on Martins Haven and Stackpole but the tips are relevant for most of the Pembrokeshire coastline. To view the Martins Haven Leaflet click here and to view the Stackpole Leaflet click here.

Press Release

Volunteers give local angling tips

Local dive group, Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners, has continued its environmental efforts, by teaming up with Pembrokeshire Federation of Angling Coaches to produce a leaflet on angling in Pembrokeshire. The two leaflets, produced for Martin’s Haven and Stackpole, provide keen fishermen with excellent tips to help them minimise tackle loss – reducing the amount of fishing litter on Pembrokeshire’s coastline.

Produced in both Welsh and Engish, the leaflets include useful underwater maps and offer tips such as ‘If spinning or feathering use a light 2-3 oz weight and remember mackerel generally swim in the upper regions of the water. Do not use grip weights when spinning or feathering.’

Dave Kennard, Chairman of Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners, said: “Fishing litter is a major problem, so this leaflet is a proactive step to educate both local and visiting anglers on how to reduce litter while fishing. During one of our dives at Stackpole Quay, we collected 730 fishing weights. That alone, demonstrates the state of the problem. Our group’s voluntary dives are more than just giving up time to clear litter, they are about educating people to think twice about our marine environment and their disposal of litter.”

The leaflets are available at Martin’s Haven and Stackpole, and will be handed out by National Trust and Skomer Marine Nature Reserve staff.

David Jones, secretary of the voluntary dive group, adds: “It was great to team up with the angling coaches and provide some really useful for both visiting and local anglers. As far as we’re aware, this type project has not been done anywhere else before. We’re delighted with the leaflets and thank all our sponsors for their support in making it happen.”

The leaflets were sponsored by Keep Wales Tidy, Milford Haven Port Authority, the Pembrokeshire Marine Special Area of Conservation, Pembrokeshire Coastal National Park Authority and Environment Wales.

NARC make UK National News

editor — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:13:08 +0000

NARCs clean up diving was covered on the BBC National UK news check out the coverage here and the Newsround website here A fantastic way to raise awareness of what we do and the impacts of marine litter!