On a recent Sunday afternoon, the divers arrived on a thin strip of sand at the furthest, watery edge of New York City. Air tanks strapped to their backs, they waded into the sea and descended into an environment far different from their usual terrestrial surroundings of concrete, traffic and trash-strewn sidewalks.

Horseshoe crabs and other crustaceans crawl on a seabed encrusted with barnacles and colonies of coral. Spiny-finned sea robin, blackfish and wayward angelfish swim in the murky ocean tinted green by sheets of algae.

Not all is pretty. Plastic bottles, candy wrappers and miles and miles of fishing line drift with the tides, endangering sea life.

The undersea litter isn害羞草研究所檛 always visible from the shore. But it has long been a concern of Nicole Zelek, founder of the dive school SuperDive who four years ago launched monthly cleanups at this small cove in the community of Far Rockaway, where New York City meets the Atlantic Ocean, about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) south of John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens.

A throwaway culture of single-use plastics and other hard-to-degrade material has over the decades, posing a danger to marine life such as seals and seabirds.

Dive by dive, small groups like Zelek害羞草研究所檚 have been trying to undo some of the damage as part of the DIVERS-ity Inititative, which promotes inclusion in the sport.

害羞草研究所淓very month we have a prize for the weirdest find,害羞草研究所� she said. They have included the occasional goat skull, perhaps used as part of some ritual, Zelek surmises.

害羞草研究所淭he best find of all time was an actual ATM machine. Unfortunately, it was empty,害羞草研究所� she said.

The divers害羞草研究所� haul one late-summer Sunday wasn害羞草研究所檛 much, but there were clumps and clumps of fishing line untangled from underwater objects. What the divers can害羞草研究所檛 pull away by hand is cut with scissors.

害羞草研究所淯nfortunately, tons of crabs and 害羞草研究所� which are under threat 害羞草研究所� get tangled in the fishing line and then they die,害羞草研究所� Zelek said.

While are underway to scoop up huge accumulations of floating debris in deeper waters, small-scale coastal cleanups like Zelek害羞草研究所檚 are an important part of the battle against ocean pollution, said Nick Mallos, vice president of conservation for Ocean Conservancy.

害羞草研究所淭he science is very clear and that害羞草研究所檚 to tackle our global plastic pollution crisis,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淲e have to do it all.害羞草研究所�

Every September, the conservancy holds monthlong international coastal cleanups. Since its inception nearly four decades ago, the cleanups have retrieved about 400 million pounds (181.4 million kilograms) of trash from coastal areas around the world.

The best way to combat plastics going into the oceans, Mallos said, is to reduce the globe害羞草研究所檚 dependence on them, particularly in packaging consumer products. But human-powered cleanup is the least costly of all cleanup options.

By 2025, some 250 million tons (226.7 million metric tons) of plastic will have found its way into the , according to the PADI AWARE Foundation, a conservation group sponsoring a global project called Dive Against Debris.

The project invites what organizers call 害羞草研究所渃itizen scientists害羞草研究所� to survey their diving sites to help catalog the myriad items that don害羞草研究所檛 belong in oceans, lakes and other bodies of water. By the group害羞草研究所檚 count, more than 90,000 participants have conducted more than 21,000 such surveys and removed 2.2 million pieces of junk, big and small.

Zelek and her fellow divers have contributed their finds to the project.

Surface trash might be easy enough to clear with a rake, but the task is more challenging beneath the water. Over the years, the layers of monofilament fishing line have accumulated. And until a few years ago, no one was scooping out the line, hooks and lead weights.

Untangled, a pound of medium-weight fishing filament would stretch to a bit more than 4 miles (6.4 kilometers). It害羞草研究所檚 anybody害羞草研究所檚 guess how many miles of fishing line remain on the channel害羞草研究所檚 bottom.

害羞草研究所淭hose small things are really what start to accumulate and become a much larger and bigger problem,害羞草研究所� said Tanasia Swift, who has been with the group for a year and works for an environmental nonprofit focused on restoring the health of New York City害羞草研究所檚 waters.

害羞草研究所淚f there害羞草研究所檚 anything that we see that doesn害羞草研究所檛 belong in the water, we take it out,害羞草研究所� she said.

While the drivers work, fishermen cast their lines from a ledge where the city害羞草研究所檚 concrete stops. The beach is frequented mostly by residents who live nearby.

Raquel Gonzalez is one such resident, and she害羞草研究所檚 been coming to the beach for years. She and a neighbor brought a rake with them on the same Sunday the divers were there.

害羞草研究所淣eeds a lot of cleanup here. There害羞草研究所檚 nobody that does any cleanup around here. We have to clean it up ourselves,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淚 love this spot, I love the scuba divers,害羞草研究所� Gonzalez said. 害羞草研究所淟ook at all the good people here.害羞草研究所�