633 divers at Florida beach break world record for largest underwater cleanup

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - The world record for the largest underwater cleanup has been broken by 633 divers in south Florida.

According to the Sun Sentinel, the world record for the largest underwater cleanup has been broken by 633 scuba drivers who scooped up trash from the ocean floor near a fishing pier at Deerfield Beach. 

They said that the hundreds of divers entered the ocean in waves and had to stay in the water at least 15 minutes to be counted.

Guinness World Record adjudicator Michael Empric reportedly came from New York City to do the official head count between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Saturday. 

Saturday's event was organized by Dixie Divers. It was supported by the marine conservation non-profit project AWARE and the scuba diving agency PADI. The event aimed to show that conservation brings more people together now than ever before.

All the marine debris data collected will be submitted to Project AWARE's world's largest marine debris surveying database for potential policy changing work in Deerfield Beach and south Florida.

The Sun Sentinel reported that the pervious record for the most divers taking part in an underwater cleanup was held by Ahmed Gabr, a former Egyptian Army scuba diver. He brought a team of 615 divers to the Red Sea of Egypt in 2015.

Jack Fishman, a diver who attended the event, said that at least 3,200 pounds of fishing gear was used for this dive. He also said that over 9,000 pieces of marine debris was reported to Project AWARE. 

"What an amazing day for conservation and an amazing day for the drive community," Fishman wrote in a Facebook post about the event.

This story was written in Orlando, Florida.