Ocean conservation advocate and divemaster Danny Ocampo is appalled by the sight of plastic waste every time he takes a dive in Anilao, a famous dive spot in the town of Mabini in Batangas. Ocampo, together with his fellow dive enthusiasts, makes it a point to pick up trash, mostly single-use plastics on the ocean floor, as part of their diving and sightseeing activities. “But what [are we] to do with garbage?” he asked. Ocampo refers to the wreckages or remnants of failed artificial reef and coral gardening projects that he finds on the ocean floor, which end up polluting the coastal and marine environment in the Philippines. On his Facebook post to celebrate World Oceans Day on June 8, Ocampo shared the photos he took from his past dives, expressing dismay over what he calls the creeping garbage of man-made reefs.

Mayuga, J. L. (2021, June 27). Man-made reefs do more harm than good to oceans. Business Mirror, p. A7.