On Monday 6 March 2017, we arranged a Project Aware Dive Against Debris® aboard MV Freedom Dolphin.  The day started with the leader of the project, PADI Elite Instructor Jon Walsh giving a brief to the guests on board about the importance of keeping our oceans clear of rubbish and sharing some of the quite astonishing facts about the amount of debris that ends up in our oceans every year.

The cleanup was on a purely voluntary basis and we are delighted to announce that everyone on board got involved to do their bit to raise awareness, gather rubbish and other items which don’t belong in our ocean.. A huge thank you to the 40+ volunteers who took part   

The really amazing news is that we gathered very little debris – testament to the great job that all those that dive at our sites around Phuket are conscious to collect anything that shouldn’t be in the Sea.  The small amount we did recover will now be registered with Project Aware broken down into type, amount and which dive site the cleanup took place at.  

Plastic and fishing line were the main culprits of the day *sigh* but not to be too disheartened, we feel proud that we raised awareness of this global issue and how every little bit really does help!  

To quote Project Aware’s issue:  ‘Marine debris is not only unsightly, it’s dangerous to sea life, hazardous to human health, and costly to our economies. Marine animals become entangled in debris, and even mistake it for food – often with fatal results. Divers, swimmers and beach goers can be directly harmed by encounters with marine debris or its toxins. The environmental damage caused by plastic debris alone is estimated at US$13 billion a year’

We will continue to complete monthly cleanup’s at our dive sites and help to raise awareness, educate and keep our oceans free of debris..