Ghost Diving USA

04/22/2026

“𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝! 𝙂𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝘿𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧!”

Our surface support team sets the tone, and the team delivers.

At Midnight Hour, we recovered ~500 sq ft of net (≈200 lbs) last Sunday (April 19). Focused, methodical work from start to finish.

Earth Day is a reminder of why we do this work.

Teams:
Jung Hsieh / Norbert Lee
Curtis Wolfslau / Andrew Hung
Surface support: Angie Biggs

More updates coming soon.

04/17/2026

We found it.
We brought it up.
We’re not done yet.

This is just part of what came out of Midnight Hour. More are still waiting below.

We'll be back on site this Sunday, April 19.

04/16/2026

On March 16th, we started a cleanup at the site "Midnight Hour", a 61-ft fishing vessel resting at 100 fsw off Catalina Island.

In one day, our team recovered over 1000 sq ft of net and 500 lbs of debris from the wreck, a strong start for a site that still holds a significant amount of ghost gear.

Dive teams:
Nir Maimon / Jim Babor
Norbert Lee / Juan Torres
Daniel Pio / Nirupam Nigam (documentation)

The Midnight Hour, built in 1958 and sunk in 2011, now sits on its starboard side, a reminder of both maritime history and the ongoing impact of lost fishing gear on marine ecosystems.

Thank you to our dive teams, Giant Stride crew for the support, and all partners who make these missions possible: Healthy Seas, People Partners Foundation, Suex, Tecline, Eezycut, Ursuit, Ultralight Camera Solutions, and Bluewater Photo.

More to come from this site. Stay tuned!

Photos: Daniel Pio and Curtis Wolfslau



Healthy Seas
Bluewater Photo
SUEX - The Submarine Exploration Company
EEZYCUT
Ghost Diving
Ultralight Camera Solutions
Ursuit

03/31/2026

03/13/2026

Some of the most important moments of our missions happen above the water.

Early mornings on the boat. Checking gear, sharing a laugh, warming up before the next dive, short naps :) This is where a group of volunteers becomes a team.

These are the people who give their time, skills, and energy to protect the ocean, showing up because they care about the underwater world and want to leave it better than they found it.

If you’d like to support the work behind these missions, please consider donating.

🔗 https://f.mtr.cool/ncceigttcm

03/03/2026

During our January survey dives, Norbert came across a fish trailing a short line, a hook lodged in its mouth.

He stayed steady and worked carefully until the fish was free and able to swim off clean.

Moments like this are part of what our teams encounter underwater.

We’ve just launched our Ghost Diving USA YouTube channel, and the full video from this dive is now live. We’ll be sharing more mission footage, full operations, and real underwater work there. Subscribe and follow along - https://f.mtr.cool/tgaakltseo

Diver: Norbert Lee
Video: Juan Torres and Andrew Hung

02/25/2026

In January, our team returned to the African Queen for a survey dive.

Ghost nets were clearly visible, draped across the wreck, still fishing long after they were lost.

They trap marine life. They scar history. And they don’t disappear on their own.

Survey dives are where it begins. Documentation. Risk assessment. Planning the safest way to remove what shouldn’t be there.

What you see in these photos is the quiet reality beneath the surface and the reason we keep going back.

Photos by: Norbert Lee

01/18/2026

Throwback to March 2024.

Our Ghost Diving USA recreational team headed out to the Olympic wreck for a day focused on two things: removing more net and giving newer team members hands-on mentorship.

Conditions couldn’t have been better — flat seas, sun out, no rush. That gave everyone time to prep, talk through the plan, and get comfortable before the first dive. Dive one was all about finding the net and getting lift bags in place. The team moved efficiently and still had enough gas and time to send the first lift bag up before heading back to the boat.

After a debrief, we reset for dive two. Small teams worked on different sections of the net, attached lift bags, and sent everything to the surface. We also picked up some floating debris spotted between dives.

What made the day stand out wasn’t just the net we removed, but also how well everyone worked together. Calm, focused, supportive. For those early in the mentorship process, it was real experience, not just observation.

Solid teamwork. Good learning. Real impact.

Photos by Daniel Pio

01/15/2026

Off Santa Catalina Island, our Ghost Diving USA team returned to a wreck that had been on our radar for years: San Vito, also known as the Tuna Clipper.

After an earlier survey revealed the wreck was heavily wrapped in abandoned fishing nets, the team went back in January 2023 with a clear plan. At 170 feet, the work was demanding — but worth it. Hundreds of pounds of net were removed, section by section, in three massive hauls.

Those nets didn’t end their story on the boat. They were sent for cleaning, reused for playground equipment on the East Coast, and shared with artists who transform recovered nets into new projects. Less harm underwater. More impact beyond it.

This is what sustained cleanup looks like — and it only happens with continued support.
👉 Donate to help us keep going - https://f.mtr.cool/qvddvwczuj

📸 Photo credit: Tianyi Liu

12/31/2025

As the year comes to a close, we’d like to extend our gratitude to our volunteers, partners, boat crews, and team members who made this work possible.

Happy New Year!

12/28/2025

𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗽
A look back at the work we took on this year and what it takes to deal with what’s left behind underwater.
Thanks for being part of it. We’re already looking ahead to 2026.