"What will you do to protect the ocean?" That was the call from the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, earlier in the year, in anticipation of the Our Ocean Conference 2015 that took place in Chile from 5-6 October.

With recent news announcing that by 2025, as much as 250 million metric tons of plastic could make its way into marine environments, it’s getting harder and harder to believe that plastic pollution in our ocean is not a lost cause.  I often get disheartened and overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the global marine debris crisis but opportunities like Our Ocean 2015, where over 400 political, academic and civil society figures as well as industry, philanthropy and non-profit leaders discussed the fate of our oceans, give me hope.  Not because promises and commitments are being made, but because it restores my faith in the power of the dive community to make a difference.

Project AWARE was invited to participate in the Our Ocean 2015 conference to represent the collective voice of the dive community and help shed some light on what lies Beneath The Waves.  During the 30 days leading up to the conference, more than 500 marine debris photos tagged with #BeneathTheWaves were shared on Twitter and Instagram by divers who joined our photo campaign.

30 days #BeneathTheWaves showed decision makers how divers are working year-round to fight for the prevention and reduction of trash in ocean ecosystems and provided a visual representation of the negative effects of marine debris on underwater environments around the world.  Your Beneath the Waves photos helped us urge leaders to support solutions leading to a measureable reduction in marine debris.

So what do we do to protect the ocean? From reporting marine debris data through Dive Against Debris to protecting vulnerable marine species, together with scuba divers everywhere we are joining forces to protect the ocean – one dive at a time. Join the movement!