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South Florida Divers Set Guinness Record For Cleanup

Mike Stocker
/
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Guinness World Records adjudicator Michael Empric counts divers as they enter the water and attempt to break the world record for the largest underwater cleanup.

More than 600 divers scooped up trash from the ocean floor off a South Florida beach, setting a Guinness World Records milestone for largest underwater cleanup.

Guinness adjudicator Michael Empric on Saturday counted 633 scuba divers entering the ocean near the Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Empric sported the dark blue Guinness blazer and teal tie in 87 degree heat as he counted divers.

Organizers by Saturday night didn't know how much trash had been collected, although one organizer said divers recovered 1,600 pounds of lead fishing weights alone, the result of years of anglers cutting bait.

The previous record for the most divers taking part in an underwater cleanup was a team of 614 divers in the Red Sea in Egypt in 2015.

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