Cars, a makeshift toilet, a full set of golf clubs, a set of false teeth and a pogo stick. These are just some of the unusual items found by volunteer scuba divers who are helping Project AWARE offer a new, underwater view of the problem of trash – much of it plastic – in the ocean.
Project AWARE recently launched the new Dive Against Debris Map to visualize the efforts of more than 21,000 volunteer divers in over 60 countries of the world to date. Thanks to AWARE divers, the map is helping to add an underwater view to a problem that is mostly invisible to the public. Divers often untangle or try to rescue marine life impacted by our debris.
What does the Dive Against Debris Map show? The story so far:
- Plastics are the No. 1 type of trash found by Dive Against Debris volunteers, making up 66% of the total nearly 400,000 pieces of debris reported to date.
- More than 700 entangled or dead marine animals reported since 2011, including marine mammals, birds, fish and crustaceans.
- 1400 Dive Against Debris surveys reported from more than 60 countries.
Thanks to all the Dive Against Debris volunteers who have submitted data so far and regularly survey their local dive sites. We couldn’t do it without you! Visit the map to see what trash divers are finding in the ocean and share it to help spread the word about what divers are doing about trash in the ocean.
