We kicked off September's Debris Month of Action with a photo contest - calling for your weirdest, strangest and craziest marine debris photos. And boy did we get them! 

One month, 159 entries, 8 finalists and over 1000 votes later, we're pleased to announce the following winners:

1st Place: "Underwater Recycling" by Christian Skauge, from Norway.

Runners Up: "Easy Rider" by Frances Whitfield, from Australia and "Two of my Favorite Things: Handbags and Nudibranchs" by Twila Midgley from the UK.

We caught up with our 1st Place winner, Christian Skauge, to discover the story behind the 1st place shot and his inspiration for taking this picture.

When asked about his thoughts on marine debris, Skauge replied, "Pick it up! You don't have to do a cleanup dive every day. But if you bring just one piece of garbage up every time you dive, you'll make a real and lasting contribution towards a better marine environment. And of course - don't ever throw stuff in the water in the first place!"

We couldn't agree more. For his 1st place shot, Christian wins an Intova CP9 camera, a variety of gear from SCUBAPRO and a PADI elearning pass for a EANx Specialty course. Our runners-up, Frances and Twila, each receive a PADI elearning pass for a Digital Underwater Photography course.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the contest and a special thanks to our contest sponsors. The contest is now closed.