The Suncoast Reef Rovers have three main projects in the Venice area.

Service Club Beach Cleanup:

This quarterly cleanup starts at the boardwalk of Service Club Beach and continues south to the Venice Pier
and back again, from the waters edge up into the dunes. We also cleanup underneath the boardwalk itself.
The usual take can include many bags of garbage in the form of beer and soda cans/bottles, plastic
wrappers, cigarette butts, abandon beach chairs, plastic cups and numerous other forms of trash.

The whole process usually takes a couple of hours. No diving is involved with this cleanup,
so we welcome any and all volunteers to help us out.

Venice Pier Cleanup:

This cleanup is annual and you must be a certified diver to participate. You also do not have to be a
member of the club to help, but you must fill out and sign the Waiver Form before you can participate.
If you are not a certified diver, you can still help out on shore or up on the pier,
your assistance is always welcome!

This event usually takes two to three hours to complete and requires two groups of people.
The first group are divers who go under the pier and bring garbage to the surface. The second group
of people are up on the pier itself, lowering ropes that are tied off to the trash, then hauled
up to the pier walkway. Most trash includes derelict crab traps, many hundreds of feet of fishing line,
fishing rods, abandon rope and steel cable, soda bottles and cans and other detritus.

The Venice Police Department helps out with this cleanup by sending out their boat and halting
all fishing on the pier while the cleanup takes place. After the dive is complete its usually
lunch time, so most folks stay at Sharky's on the Pier for lunch and swap stories.

Venice Jetties Cleanup:

The Jetty cleanup operates much like the Pier cleanup. You must be a certified diver to participate
in the dive portion, but anyone wishing to help by hauling trash up onto the jetty are greatly welcomed.

The Venice Police Department also assists by halting all fishing from the jetties while
the cleanup is in progress.

 

These ongoing cleanups are part of the mission of the Suncoast Reef Rovers.
Our respect and appreciation of the coastal environment motivates us to care
for and protect what we treasure. Not only that, but its just plain fun as well!