As another year comes to a close, here at Project AWARE®, we are reflecting on all the amazing wins for the ocean, you, our amazing community of ocean adventurers have enabled us to achieve. When we come together for a shared goal, we can do amazing things, and you've proven that so thank you for each and every action you have taken for the ocean this year, however big or small. Now grab yourself a cuppa, (or a cup of joe or whatever you drink wherever you are in the world) put your feet up and take a moment to celebrate our joint successes for the big blue.

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Clean Ocean

Our flagship citizen science programme Dive Against Debris® goes from strength to strength with 269,379 items of debris removed from the seafloor and reported to our global database (as of November 2019) taking us ever closer to our 2020 goal of two million items of debris removed. We have 533 adopted dive sites around the world with dedicated owners cleaning and submitting data at least once a month, strengthening the data from those sites.

Healthy Ocean

2019 was an important year for sharks and rays with some significant wins including trade controls secured for 18 species at CITES CoP18. As well as our shark work, we shone a light on an arguably less charismatic ocean dweller and made the humble sea cucumber our 2019 poster boy. These incredible creatures needed some love and you didn’t disappoint.

We were inundated with high-quality photos and demonstrable levels of support, says Ian Campbell, Project AWARE Associate Director Policy and Campaigns. This led directly to the US and EU governments referencing the value of them as an attraction to marine tourism as well as playing a vital role in keeping reefs healthy. While there was significant opposition from some countries that consume sea cucumbers, we managed to get a huge win, with over 100 countries supporting, and the role public support played was critical.

Community Action

This year, you made #EveryDiveASurveyDive, took part in over 140 events around the world for AWARE week and went to extraordinary lengths with friends and family to fundraise for our ocean planet. Fins on and fins off, online and offline, you made your voices heard.

Staying true to our values of collaboration and knowing we are stronger together, our community not only includes individual ocean lovers but also businesses, NGOs and corporate partners who share our passion for the underwater world. Over the last 12 months, we have continued our work with the Shark League, Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) and our 100% AWARE partners to name just a few.

Although we still have a long way to go and we find ourselves in a time where the ocean and indeed the planet has never been under so much threat, together we are making a difference. Thank you for your continuous commitment to driving change and protection for the ocean and remember...

Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has”  Margaret Mead.