As another year comes to a close, we reflect on all the amazing wins for the ocean our community of ocean adventurers has achieved with us. Within our clean ocean program, our flagship citizen science program Dive Against Debris® has gone from strength to strength with 269,379 items of debris removed from the seafloor and reported to our global database in 2019. This takes us closer to our 2020 goal of two million items of debris removed. Every diver has a special connection with the ocean and it's that deep passion for the underwater world that drives us to take action. We asked members of our community to tell us why they Dive Against Debris and here are some of their answers:

Elliot Peters

The Sunshine Coast, Australia

“It just made sense to report the debris we were finding and hopefully create change with it. Project AWARE was an easily accessible first base to start learning about marine debris and recording it.”

Kim Timmers

Tenerife, Canary Islands

“I think it is important to submit the data so it can be used to see where the more problematic areas are. It’s great that Project AWARE is giving us all a way to make picking up debris even more meaningful, and use that data to do even more for the environment.”

Ismail Samooh

North Male’atoll, Maldives

“Working as a dive instructor was my dream job for many years. I always wanted to educate more people, especially the younger generations and make them understand their responsibility for the ocean and our coral reefs. I always encourage my students and my fellow divers to pick up the debris from the ocean.”

Andy Ezeta Watts

Mahe, Seychelles

“I started submitting data because we believe that is important not only to clean and keep the reef clean but also to create awareness. I work with people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds and I’m happy to say that all of them gain a lot of knowledge on how to take care of the ocean. They are more careful and think twice about the use of plastics after participating in this type of activities.”

Feeling inspired? Join the Project AWARE community and make #EveryDiveASurveyDive with Dive Against Debris.