Scuba App Review: Marine Debris Tracker
SCUBA DIVING APP REVIEWS
Marine Debris Tracker
Version: 1.04
Price: Free
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Description: Marine Debris Tracker is the first product of this initiative to spread awareness of marine debris, as well as serve as an easy to use and simple tool for marine debris data collection. This app also contains outreach tools and current information from the NOAA Marine Debris Division.
Pros: A conservation app that is free, Marine Debris Tracker allows users to report debris they find. The app has a minimalist menu system that is very self explanatory and easy to use.
Cons: Requires you to sign up to track or submit debris information. It definitely needs a graphic artist’s touch too.
Bottom Line: I love seeing apps like this one. I think as divers we have a special passport to view parts of this world most will never get to see. With this passport to the underwater world we should take the effort to protect it. There are many programs out there that allow us to “give back,” and this is one that is heading in the right direction. On many dive trips off the coast of Florida I’ve come across toilets, garbage cans, and empty beer bottles at the bottom of the sea. Every little bit we can do to help Mother Nature is beneficial, and this app makes it easier to help — we’re all addicted to our smartphones so let’s take the few seconds to report trash we see, and hopefully leave only bubbles behind.
To download this app, visit Marine Debris Tracker.
PADI Rescue Diver Michael Dombrowski, President of DomCo Electronics, Inc., is an Electrical and Software Engineer with over 10 years of experience specializing in iOS applications and rapid prototyping. He has created apps for the educational industry, including The Organwise Guys, and for the dive industry with RB Planner, as well as prototypes for the Arduino Community. To see more, visit his website at www.DomCoElectronics.com