Getting to know Shawn Bath

Shawn Bath became a clean ocean warrior totally by accident. To keep himself busy between jobs as a diver, he pulled a few discarded tires from Bay Roberts harbour in Newfoundland. 15,000 pounds of garbage later, he knew the problem of ocean dumping that was killing fish, otters, seabirds and even whales was far bigger than he could solve in a few dives. He started the Clean Harbours Initiative (CHI) and with a donated boat he’s been cleaning up Newfoundland waters ever since. A new film about his work called Hell or Clean Water is bringing in donations to CHI’s Go Fund Me campaign. Saltscapes spoke with Shawn Bath about jumping ice pans, plucking sea urchins from tires and changing hearts and minds.

 

Where did you grow up?

Twillingate. We worked and played on or in the ocean, building little rafts and floating around the harbour. Wintertime, the sea ice breaks into little ice pans, each one big enough to float a couple of kids. We’d run from pan to pan. There’s a lot of stuff we
did back then you wouldn’t let your
kids do today.

 

When did playing on the ocean turn into work?

At 14, I went fishing with my dad and mom. We fished for pretty much everything. I loved fishing, so when the cod moratorium came on, it was devastating.

 

What did you do instead?

Loving the ocean the way I did, I was determined to make a living out of the sea. I took dive courses and started diving for sea urchins. I loved being in the water and made a lot of money at it. I spent 21 years doing that.

 

Is that when you discovered the ocean dumping problem?

I was literally picking sea urchins off old tires. Only a handful of divers like myself even knew the problem existed. Newfoundland looks so pristine, but when you get under the surface, you’re seeing tires, bathtubs, televisions,
batteries, lobster traps, crab traps, ropes, nets.

 

Do you blame fishermen?

I don’t blame all fishermen, but the truth is, being a fisherman, I’ve seen them do it. In the past, a lot of fishermen parted gear and left it in the water. I was as bad as anybody for throwing trash in the ocean. After being that kind of person for so long and seeing the effects of my doings and other people’s doings, it just dawned on me one day.

 

It’s a big leap from there to spending all your time diving for garbage.

Whenever I go at something—I don’t know if it’s my OCD or what—I’ve got to do it 110 per cent. I’ve tried so many things in my life that I failed at, and I lost everything I owned a few years back. To get this off the ground, I had to sell my personal items. I definitely lost hope several times—but failing at this was not an option.

 

What’s your goal for CHI?

Now we’ve got three boats, our plan consists of a harbour cleanup crew, a beach cleanup crew and a 57-foot longliner to drag for ghost nets.

 

Is your work changing hearts and minds?

It was a big joke when this first started. People laughed at me while throwing bags of garbage overboard, jokingly saying to their friends that Shawn
Bath will be picking it up. I tell you, they’re starting to change their tune. Now they’re volunteering and bringing
in their garbage. If everybody did a little, we could overcome these problems.