Diver makes horrifying discovery while surveying the ocean floor: 'Could you believe this number?'

Diving is a great way to discover a whole new world beneath the waves — but imagine the horror of taking the plunge to find, in addition to a sandy floor and fish swimming around, there are dozens of golf balls scattered across the bottom. That's exactly what happened to one diver who recently shared their underwater cleanup on TikTok.

In the video, lizlivingblue (@lizlivingblue), an ocean conservationist, shared footage of the cleanup and the astonishing amount of golf balls they collected on a dive in one area.

@lizlivingblue Could you believe this number?! 😱 #underwatercleanup #scubadiving #golfballs #golf #coastalcleanup #marinedebris #plasticpollution #protectouroceans ♬ original sound - BYNX

The video shows the seabed littered with golf balls and the divers carrying a huge bag full of them back to the shore. The total number collected on one dive was a staggering 678. The TikToker captioned the video: "Could you believe this number?"

This is another example of how humans are polluting the environment. Golf balls are problematic because they can take up to 1,000 years to decompose, and during that time, they are leaching chemicals and other pollutants into the environment. They can also cause damage to fragile habitats, especially under the water.

Golf balls are also a source of microplastics, which are now being found in every corner of our planet. Microplastics are linked to a variety of health issues and could be causing considerable threats to the animals that are ingesting them. While golf balls may not be something we initially think of when talking about pollution in the oceans, it is a growing concern. For example, one teen scientist reportedly collected 40,000 golf balls from three sites off the coast of California close to the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Making people aware of these issues is important to try to reduce the amount of pollution in our environment and protect the natural world. Working with golf courses to encourage them to retrieve the balls that are hit into the ocean is one solution. Another is to consider using biodegradable golf balls that are made from natural products.

Watch now: How the NBA is making layups in the sustainability game

People in the comments praised the efforts of the divers. "Thank you for helping our world, " one commenter wrote. "Fantastic work …you are awesome," wrote another.