The winners of the #CleanSeas Innovation Challenge, a competition among university students awarding creative ideas in tackling one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time, were announced at the 6th International Marine Debris Conference sponsored by Project AWARE.

Diving since 1989, John Hoagland has dedicated the past eighteen years to keeping his local marine environment clean. Read his story and what inspires him to keep returning to the same dive site year after year.

Over the course of three days, the 5th World Ocean Summit invited participants from around the world to evaluate strategies and devise new solutions to urgent problems in the ocean. As we reflect on the many topics discussed during the summit, we share what people posted on social media to tell a compelling story of passion, challenges, collaboration, inspiration and action for the ocean.

Over the past seven months Alexandros Malagaris has led efforts to remove massive ghost nets, abandoned lobster pots as well as 4 meter length pipes off the Greek Island of Samos. Malagaris says, "The ocean is my backyard. I want to keep it clean." Read his inspirational story.

Reefs worldwide are facing threats including climate change, overfishing, water pollution and marine debris from human waste like single-use plastics. While the effects of climate change must be addressed on a global scale, local communities can give their reefs the best chance of survival. Several organizations on the island are working diligently to help restore and protect Curacao’s reefs by tackling these issues.

Een uniek wereldwijd niet-wetenschappelijk onderzoek waarbij duikers afval uit zee verwijderen en daarover rapporteren, heeft deze week een mijlpaal bereikt: de organisatoren maken melding van een miljoen stuks afval dat uit de oceaan is verwijderd.

전 세계의 스쿠버 다이버들이 해양 쓰레기를 제거하고 보고하는 이 독특한 세계 국민 과학 조사가 이번 주에 바다에서 백만 개의 쓰레기 아이템이 제거되었음을 발표하는 큰 이정표를 달성했습니다.

Questa settimana, un’indagine di citizen science globale unica nel suo genere, nel quale subacquei in ogni parte del mondo rimuovono rifiuti marini e ne fanno rapporto, ha raggiunto un traguardo storico: gli organizzatori hanno annunciato che sono stati rimossi un milione di rifiuti dall’oceano.

Ein einzigartiges bürgerwissenschaftliches Datenerhebungssystem, bei dem weltweit Müll eingesammelt und Daten übermittelt werden, hat diese Woche einen Meilenstein erreicht: Die Organisatoren gaben bekannt, dass mittlerweile schon eine Million Müllteile aus den Meeren entfernt wurden.