Be a part of Dive Against Debris® event with Sarasota's Florida Underwater Sports and support Project AWARE’s flagship citizen-science program which empowers scuba divers to remove marine debris from the ocean and report data on the types, quantities and locations of materials collected. Since the program’s launch in 2011, more than 86,000 divers have participated in Dive Against Debris in 120 countries around the world, reporting over 1.6 million pieces of trash have been removed from the ocean. As the only underwater debris data collection program of its kind, Dive Against Debris both improves the health of ocean ecosystems through localized volunteer efforts and provides valuable information about underwater debris to help inform policy changes that can positively impact the aquatic environment. Project AWARE's next goal is to add the next million pieces of debris to the global dataset by the end of 2020 to mobilize local communities and continue to build evidence of the scale of the global marine debris crisis.

Along with keeping our beaches and reefs clean, Florida Underwater Sports works with and supports MOTE Marine Laboratory, Disabled Divers International and provides support to our diving community. 

Join the public beach event on Saturday, September 19 at 9 am on Venice Beach. Enjoy hot coffee and fresh donuts, get a dive briefing, grab a debris bag and start collecting. Non-divers are welcome to help and pick up beach trash. 

Learn more about the event here.