Debris Month of Action has seen divers all around the world taking the plunge to fight back against trash in the ocean and Dive Against Debris. Last weekend Hannah Pragnell-Raasch, Program and Outreach Coordinator, Project AWARE Foundation was lucky enough to join Dive 2000 and Mosman Council in their Dive Against Debris in Sydney, Australia. “It was a perfect sunny day to get in the water. We collected a weird and wonderful mixture of items from action figures to cutlery to mobile phones and of course the usual culprits – plastic bags and bottles!

Following months of careful planning and coordination, the Malaysia Day Dive 2013 (MDD) concluded on a high note with a total of 64.5kg of marine debris successfully collected from in and around the WWII shipwreck of the Hiyoshi Maru, about 30km off the Santubong coast.
A stinking mess of abandoned fishing nets piled high on the boat ramp may not be anyone’s idea of the catch of the day but for the 15 volunteer divers taking part, it was a beautiful sight because it meant these nets would no longer pose a danger to ocean life.

Cathay Pacific's policy banning cargoes of non-sustainable shark fin will not come into effect until next year, about 18 months after it was announced, marine experts drawing up the guidelines say.
The experts defended the carrier's drawn-out approach, saying Cathay had "grasped a serious nettle" and that its stance would be more effective for marine conservation in the long term.
Cathay said on September 4 last year it would no longer carry shark fin from unsustainable sources, saying it expected to implement the policy within "approximately three months".

PADI and Project AWARE Asia Pacific staff, friends and family took to the chilly ocean waters in Manly, Sydney Australia on Sunday 22nd September to Get Swimming to End Finning. Eighteen swimmers enjoyed picture perfect conditions for their 1km ocean challenge, clocking another 18km in the water the event takes the global collective distance scuba divers have swum in the name of sharks to an amazing 800km.
Congratulations to PADI Vice President, Jeremy Coleman and his daughter Georgia, 11 who finished in the top five.

There is no easy way to tackle the issue of marine litter: it is complicated and has many causes, impacts and inputs. As a high percentage of marine litter comes from land based sources, EU legislation is possibly the best way to address the problem and look for solutions.

Twelve months before the entry into force of CITES regulations on shark and rays, the European Union approves a 1.2 million euro project to ensure their effective implementation. Brazil, China, Germany, Japan and the United States have also offered support and technical assistance.
The 178 Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are preparing for the implementation of the shark and ray listings that they adopted at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) in March 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Debris Month of Action is in full swing and as always, you are going above and beyond to help remove trash to keep our ocean environment clean and healthy. Samy Gheraz and the crew at Infinity Ocean Diving in Phuket, Thailand have kickstarted their Dive Against Debris Hero actions, organising monthly Dive Against Debris surveys – the first one of which took place with great success on 9th September.

Chaque année depuis plus de 20 ans, le club Aqua-Diving et Scuba-Dream prenne l’initiative avec leurs plongeurs et bénévoles sur le terrain de procéder à un nettoyage du lac Léman et plus spécialement aux alentours des «Bains des Pâquis». Beaucoup de clubs se sont maintenant joints à cette magnifique journée.