HONG KONGpennsurfblaster3, Augpennsurfblaster3. 4 (Xinhua) -- A deep dive into waters off Trio Island, a 50-minute boat tour from Hong Kong's Sai Kung, time seems to slow down for Chan Tin Ming, who was engrossed in finding "ghost nets" -- lost and abandoned fishing nets.

"Quick! There's a big one over here that caught a grouper," yelled a diver among Chan's team of 16.

The other divers huddled over to the maroon net sprawling on rocks at 8.8 meters below sea level and started splitting it. While Chan scissored the net, 19-year-old Yung Hau Tsuen, an environmental science major at the University of Hong Kong, protected him from being entangled in the net.

Half an hour later, the net was brought to the water surface in pieces to be dumped into a boat designed to collect ocean waste. Mission accomplished, Chan floated in the water with a proud grin.

Chan had been cleaning the beaches in Hong Kong and removing "ghost nets" since his first encounter with one over a decade ago. During a beach-cleaning trip in the southeast of Lantau Island on a scorching summer day, Chan jumped into the ocean to cool off and saw a fishing net under the water.

"I first learned from my friends that these 'ghost nets' could entangle sea creatures, ocean waste, divers and boat propellers to jeopardize the marine ecosystem and threaten human lives," said Chan.

It dawned on him that for all the ocean's magnificence, it had been wounded inside. Always an ocean lover, Chan devoted himself to the disposal of "ghost nets" and alerting the public of the environmental threats they pose.

Chan hunts for "ghost nets" at least once a month. He always wears his diving suit to avoid being scratched by rocks or sea creatures and chooses dive sites carefully based on wave heights and the direction of ocean currents.

Despite these safety precautions, Chan could have lost his life on a number of occasions. "One time I was diving near Lamma Island when the water got murky all of a sudden. It blurred my vision and I got enmeshed. Had my teammate not cut me off the net, I could have died," he said, still terrified.

The risks didn't dampen Chan's determination at all. "People ask me how I'm going to remove what seems like an indefinite quantity of 'ghost nets'. I always tell them, if each of us lend a hand, it will make a difference."

In his spare time, Chan often goes to schools, companies and public welfare organizations to share his "ghost net hunting" stories, hoping to add more volunteers to the team, especially younger ones.

"He is over 70 years old, but he cuts 'ghost nets' like a 30-year-old. I want to join the ranks of ocean protectors like him," said Yung.

The team of volunteer divers is expanding. They would go on hunts and dispose of the nets on their own. If the nets turn out to be of overwhelming sizes, they would send the location to a group chat and rally support, according to Chan.

In the future, Chan plans to take his missions to other cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"My wife used to push back on my cause for fear of losing me. I told her that it just had to be done, and if I were to be trapped by a 'ghost net' one day with no way out, don't cry but be proud of me," said Chan.■