Local scuba divers and Sydney Dive Academy participated in Dive Against Debris last weekend at Bare Island, La Perouse.
Trained divers not only removed underwater debris such as plastic bottles, plastic bags and fishing line, but also identified and documented everything we see underwater in a larger effort to prevent marine debris.

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.
 

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2011) — The oceans cover 71% of our planet, with over half with a depth greater than 3000 m. Although our knowledge is still very limited, we know that the deep ocean contains a diversity of habitats and ecosystems, supports high biodiversity, and harbors important biological and mineral resources.

With the introduction of Dive Against Debris, the act of removing debris underwater and logging data about that debris has become a Project AWARE focus. Sarah Wormald, the Global Scavenger Hunt champion, is one AWARE diver taking the cleanup commitment to the next level.

 
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.

Long-time Project AWARE supporter, Pedro Mendes, is passionate about wildlife and conservation. But this year, he’s taking that passion to a whole new level. Pedro has pledged to raise £2,000 for ocean protection through Project AWARE by 31st December. And he’s not taking this pledge lightly.

Shark Guardian, a nonprofit organization founded by Brendon Sing, is standing up for shark protection and inspiring the masses to put their shark passion to action. Sing takes the Shark Guardian presentation international, traveling and presenting to massive audiences about the importance of shark species, why they’re in trouble and what we can do about it. 
“We make it clear that sharks are vitally important for the health and ecological balance of our oceans. We must save our sharks and protect our oceans, to save ourselves,” said Sing. 

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.

On Saturday the Bubbles Dive Centre team and local scuba divers completed a Dive Against Debris underwater survey in Marsalforn Bay. The event, which is part of an International Project AWARE campaign, involved trained divers not only removing underwater debris such as plastic bottles and fishing lines, but also the identification and documentation of everything collected underwater in a larger effort to prevent marine debris.