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! A huge thanks to Dive 2000 and Mosman Council for letting me join in and help. It was a great day!” said Hannah.

The great efforts don’t stop there – 100% AWARE Partner, Big Blue Vanuatu in Port Vila, Vanuatu had great support with 22 volunteers taking to the waters and removing over 400 kgs/800 lbs of trash including 131 glass beverage bottles. “One of the unusual items was a bottle of perfume, which was still working and smelt a lot better than most of the other items!!” said Christina Shaw, co-owner of Big Blue Vanuatu.

Atmosphere Resorts and Spa in the Philippines rallied 85 divers together who helped haul a total of 148 kgs/326 lbs from the water. They even got all the kids from ONE International School to come along and learn all about marine debris – from puppet shows to arts and crafts, a great day was had by all.

A full set of golf clubs was among the most bizarre items that divers found during Action Scuba’s Dive Against Debris in Montreal, Canada. In total, over 158 kgs/350 lbs was removed and they raised a fantastic $400 for Project AWARE. Showing their commitment to keeping the ocean planet clean and healthy, Action Scuba have signed the pledge to become a Dive Against Debris Hero meaning they will continue to Dive Against Debris throughout the year and report their data.

Simply Diving in Torremolinos, Spain did a great job cleaning up one of their favourite dive sites off of Gibraltar removing a range of trash, including a scooter! They also raised 250 euros which they kindly donated to Project AWARE.

Marine debris really is the ocean’s silent killer – it’s choking our ocean planet and injuring and killing thousands of marine animals and seabirds every year. The data submitted to Project AWARE by ocean heroes all around the world as part of your Dive Against Debris surveys is a crucial part of painting an accurate picture of the underwater marine debris crisis and contributes to a growing database about what rubbish is being found in our ocean all around the world.

A massive thankyou to everyone that is taking the plunge to Dive Against Debris and contributing to making the ocean planet a cleaner and healthier place.

It’s never too late to make a difference – start your Dive Against Debris action today!