Volunteers helped remove 1.4 metric tons of trash from Banderas Bay and hard-to-reach beaches in a Sunday cleanup that drew 28 boats.
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Nov. 9, 2026 – Volunteers pulled 1.4 metric tons of trash, about 3,100 pounds, from Banderas Bay and hard-to-reach beaches Sunday during Puerto Vallarta’s third International Trash Fishing Tournament.
Twenty-eight boats took part, according to Limpia Tu Mar’s tally. The nonprofit counted 140 tournament participants, 42 crew members and 130 volunteers.
Boats set out from the Muelle de Los Muertos in the Zona Romántica. The tournament was moved from Oct. 18 to Nov. 8 after port authorities closed the area to boats as Hurricane Trudy approached.
“We have to learn to manage our trash at home,” Limpia Tu Mar founder Rigoberto Pedroza said before the tournament. Rain can wash trash left in streets and drainage channels into the bay, where it can harm marine life.
At last year’s tournament, 34 boats took part, and crews collected 3.55 metric tons, according to Mexico’s federal environmental protection agency, Profepa. That haul included tires and discarded appliances.
Limpia Tu Mar says it also sends volunteer crews out from Puerto Vallarta each week to pick up floating trash, including plastic bottles and discarded nets.
