As divers, the serious problem of marine debris and plastic pollution isn't anything new. Seeing the effects of pollution on the underwater world we love so much can feel like an overwhelming problem but it doesn’t have to be that way. We all have the power to be part of the solution.

At Project AWARE we believe that individual actions, when brought together can create big impact and as divers we are in a unique position to bring to the surface what’s going on beneath the waves. Through Project AWARE’s citizen science programme, Dive Against Debris®, you can make every dive count.

Get Involved On Your Next Dive

Dive Against Debris is a year-round, any time, any dive, program that when repeated over time provides real information about the litter invading the ocean. Using the Project AWARE mobile app makes submitting marine debris data and your underwater findings easy and convenient:

• After the dive, simply report all the debris items removed along with the dive conditions and any photos you’d like to include. It’s also important to report when you dive in a debris free site, this data is just as valuable as the items removed to get a true understanding of what's going on underwater.
• The dive site’s latitude and longitude can be easily added using information from your mobile device.
• If you dive at the same site regularly, the app can copy information from a previous submission.
• No 4G? No problem. The app will store your data as a draft for you to complete submission once you resume connection.
• Done! Your data becomes part of a global dataset to help drive long-term change to address the global marine debris crisis.

Why is the data important?

Project AWARE is committed to using your data to help influence change. Through our Partnerships Against Trash we’re sharing the data you report with organizations and marine debris fora like the Global Ghost Gear Initiative and Trash Free Seas Alliance. We are committed to establishing solutions to stop marine debris at source. Without debris data, Project AWARE along with scientists and conservationists can’t advocate for change.

Thanks to scuba divers like you, in 2018, our work and fight against marine debris hit a significant milestone - one million pieces of debris removed from the ocean and recorded to our global Dive Against Debris dataset of underwater debris. That’s one million less pieces of debris wreaking havoc on marine life and fragile underwater habitats.

RELATED: Shark Conservation on the Gili Islands

Join Project AWARE for the #NextMillion2020

In 2019, we are taking a stronger stand against debris in the ocean to reach our next million pieces of debris reported to Dive Against Debris by the end of 2020. We need divers all around the world to put their scuba skills to good use and report what’s for many people is out of sight, out of mind. Only divers have the skills required to collect underwater data which is essential if we are going to find long-term solutions to the marine debris crisis.

“We are increasing our ambition to remove and record more marine debris faster than before, and we’ll also be analyzing all the data that has been submitted to us to try to answer some fundamental questions on how marine debris interacts with ocean habitats, and, more importantly, to come up with potential solutions.” says Ian Campbell, Project AWARE Associate Director Policy and Campaigns.

Adding the next million pieces of debris to the global Dive Against Debris dataset by the end of 2020 contributes to mobilizing local communities and builds evidence of the scale of the global marine debris crisis. Be part of the #NextMillion2020!

Download your Dive Against Debris Survey Toolkit and the free Project AWARE app from Google Play or iTunes today! Turn your phone into a tool for conservation and start submitting Dive Against Debris data - Make every dive a survey dive!