Over the past few months we have talked about various species we monitor as part of Blue Guru's Ocean Action Project: wonderful whale sharks, magical mantas, terrific turtles, superb seahorses & lovely leopard sharks. Something else we record on every dive & snorkel is definitely not as delightful as the marine life we see - disgusting debris.

September is Project AWARE's Dive Against Debris month of action but this is not the only month in which divers are encouraged to remove trash from our seas. The emphasis has moved away from annual clean up events towards removal of garbage found on every dive throughout the year. It's great to remove debris from the water, however to influence changes in international management of waste disposal, it's necessary to have data aggregated to identify the worst hotspots & types of debris being dumped.

Plastic is the biggest problem globally but particularly in South East Asia, where a staggered 98,355 plastic items have been reported to Project AWARE's Dive Against Debris campaign.

Blue Guru is proud to have contributed to Project AWARE's Interactive Dive Against Debris Map by supplying all the data presented on the map for the Phang Nga region including Surin National Park, Similans National Park & Koh Phra Thong. We plan to resume reporting more data when we re-open for next season in November. All divers around the world can submit data on debris retrieved from the water to www.projectaware.org/DiveAgainstDebrisData. 

If you are interested in learning how to manage or conduct a Dive Against Debris or how to report your data, there are lots of useful resources to download from Project AWARE's website: www.projectaware.org/project/dive-against-debris. If you would rather learn from an expert and acquire another eco certification which counts towards Master Scuba Diver rating, consider taking the new PADI Dive Against Debris Specialty.

Last season Blue Guru reported whether debris was found on each dive/snorkel to Shark Guardian's eShark research. Shark Guardian is another Ocean Action Project winner working hard to protect sharks, rays & other marine life in Thailand. We urge all divers in Thailand to submit data on every dive conducted to www.sharkguardian.org/thailand-eshark-project

Earlier this year large concrete blocks were dropped offshore from Koh Phra Thong in an attempt to deter boats from fishing in the area and to block their discarded nets & other rubbish from washing onto our local reefs. We look forward to monitoring the difference made next season when we resume our Ocean Action Project, Shark Guardian & Dive Against Debris activities.