Project AWARE together with other NGOs leading the fight against marine litter is calling on European countries to set a 50% reduction target in marine litter.
As part of a requirement to comply with the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) - a legislative initiative that uses an ecosystem approach to improve the management of human activities that affect marine environment including marine litter -  European Union (EU) member states are required to finalise their marine environmental targets for 2020 by 15th July 2012.

Plastic pollution off the northwest coast of North America is reaching the level of the notoriously polluted North Sea, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of British Columbia.
The study, published online in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin, examined stomach contents of beached northern fulmars on the coasts of British Columbia, Canada, and the states of Washington and Oregon, U.S.A.
"Like the canary in the coal mine, northern fulmars are sentinels of plastic pollution in our oceans," says Stephanie Avery-Gomm, the study's lead author and a gr

You don’t need to spend months organizing a lavish ball or a big golf tournament to raise funds for your favourite cause. Last week All About Scuba, Victoria, Australia held their Annual Awards Night and raised a fantastic $1,000 in the space of a few hours.
How did they do it?   You guessed it, a raffle!

The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives announced at the Rio+20 summit it would create the world's biggest marine reserve to protect its fisheries and biodiversity.
"I would like to announce today Maldives will become the first country to become a marine reserve," President Mohamed Waheed said in a speech.
"It will become the single largest marine reserve in the world. This policy will allow only sustainable and eco-friendly fishing.

A carpet and a petrol can were among the items Newquay Dive recovered from the waters during its second Dive Against Debris.
The event targeted the reef underneath the Headland and Little Fistral Beach.
During two dives in four hours the team found eight bags of rubbish weighing in at a total of 16kg.
Members of the Dive Newquay club in the UK also collected miscellaneous pieces of debris including rubber, plastics and fishing lead.
Organisers and dive instructors James Taylor and Veronika Kruse said they were pleased with the outcome.
"The

Venezuela set forth a series of measures this week to protect sharks within its waters.

The agreement, the first of its kind to address the global conservation of sharks, was signed by Richard Benyon on behalf of the UK and a number of its Overseas Territories including the Falklands and South Georgia. Adopted under the Convention of Migratory Species it will help develop management measures to protect threatened species such as basking, longfin mako and whale sharks.
Many of these sharks are not only found in UK waters, but in the waters of British Overseas Territories making UK involvement crucial in ensuring these animals get the protection they need.

Last April, a group of divers from Nottingham Trent University teamed up with a local dive centre and NGO in Blue Bay Mauritius to organize a series of Dive Against Debris events and reef surveys.
The diving team led by Dr Nicholas Ray (Senior Lecturer in Environmental Ecology and PADI MSDT), with the help of Coral Diving Centre staff, surveyed the lagoon and outer reef surrounding the south east corner of Mauritius.