Instructors from Pacific Divers were met with a nasty surprise during a clean-up dive yesterday morning to commemorate the annual World Oceans Day.

The 45-minute dive on the northern side of Rarotonga was conducted by instructors Sandra Ankli, Callum McKean and Ella Knobloch alongside a customer and an intern.

“We hold clean up dives every year dedicated to World Oceans Day … we used one of our dives off Trader Jacks close to the Maitai wreck (yesterday) to do a bit of clean up,” McKean said.

“There were a lot of plastic bags, fibre, plastic bottles and cans. Our advice to the public, please dispose of your rubbish correctly so it doesn’t end up in our beautiful moana.”

Yesterday, government agencies and Cook Islands ocean stakeholders gathered together at Terevete Park to celebrate World Oceans Day.

The theme for the event was Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean.