As we prepare to kick-off Debris Month of Action underwater on September 1, we're inspired by this incredible beach cleanup project that’s become a striking piece of marine debris art thanks to Camps International in Africa.

Australia has the world's third largest marine territory and a rich diversity of marine habitats from the tropical coral reefs of the north, through temperate sponge gardens and vast seagrass beds to the chilly southern waters of the Great Australian Bight. 

Diving on the east coast of Australia is incredible; warm tropical seas or cool temperate waters, both support an amazing array of marine life. Great schools of fish swarm in the dappled sunlight with perhaps a passing turtle or ray in the background. But at a handful of dive sites you see none of this; your eyes are firmly fixed on the circling grey nurse sharks. 

We're kicking off our new year-round Dive Against Debris program with a Debris Month of Action!
Throughout the month of September, Project AWARE divers around the world will mobilize to collect trash and log what they find here on the Project AWARE website. This data will go on to inform researchers of the debris issues facing the ocean. With a more accurate picture of what's happening in our ocean, we can begin to make better decisions around waste management and the policies that affect ocean life.

On August 15th 2011, Project AWARE Foundation and Shark Advocates International sent a letter to the United States Fish And Wildlife Service as part of a public comment process regarding potential U.S. proposals for listing sharks and other species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The problem of ocean trash is growing by the day. But Project AWARE and dive volunteers around the world are putting these issues under the microscope and focusing on solutions – locally and globally. 

Fed up of litter strewn beaches and reefs full of trash? So are we. Think you can make a real difference through your diving? So do we. This is why Project AWARE has created Dive Against Debris, an underwater survey of the rubbish in our ocean.
 

 
Project AWARE's Underwater Scavenger Hunt has just wrapped up and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the results. June and July gave way to an incredible show of support from Project AWARE divers as they worked to clean up their favorite dive sites and have a little fun while they did it.

Here are three top reasons why we’re gaga over sharks:
1. Sharks are critical to the health of our ocean planet.
2. We’re fishing them to extinction (cue the alarm bells!)
3. Divers, who are some of sharks’ closest friends, can help save them.

So far, more than 1,500 people have set up My Ocean profiles on ProjectAWARE.org. When we first launched the new website, we kept our eyes peeled for 10 of the most complete and inspiring profiles to feature on our blog. The ten profiles listed below have shown us that underwater conservation is a big part of their diving experience. These 10 profiles feature stories of ocean conservation action from around the planet.