More than 35 diver and surface volunteers have spent their Saturday morning cleaning Pilot Bay.
Underwater Clean up Pilot Bay organiser Shane Wasik says it's really important to clean the area because of its large marine population, which includes sea horse, octopus and nudibrancs.

Mount Maunganui Underwater Club and local volunteers out in force Saturday to clean up Pilot Bay.

The club has organised the underwater clean up in association with Seaweek, but Shane hopes to clean up the bay on a more regular basis.
Seaweek is an annual event run by the NZ Association for Environmental Education, designed to highlight awareness of the marine environment.
Among the items found in the Bay were ice block packets, cigarette butts and polystyrene.