Project AWARE Foundation has launched its new Beneath the Waves campaign and is asking the scuba diving community to share personal photographs of underwater trash in order to highlight the devastating impacts of marine debris underwater.
The initiative, created by PADI in 1989, focuses on two major ocean issues: sharks in peril, and the growing problem of marine debris. The groups states on its website, “There are many conservation issues converging on our ocean planet at once, but we’re concentrating on these serious problems where scuba divers are uniquely positioned to directly and positively affect real, long-term change in these two areas.
“With new programs and more online resources than ever before, Project AWARE supports an unprecedented global movement of divers acting in their own communities to protect the ocean and implement lasting change.”
Photographs shared via Twitter and Instagram will be displayed in a global photo collage until October 5, 2015 on padi.com and social media. Organizers will use the photo campaign to rally around the international Our Ocean 2015 conference in Chile on October 5-6, 2015, urging leaders in marine conservation to support solutions leading to a measurable reduction in marine debris.
“Together, we’re re-thinking what’s possible and sharing a positive vision for our ocean future. Get ready for the work ahead by joining the movement of thousands of divers to protect our ocean planet.”
Be sure to use the hashtag #BeneathTheWaves. Check out the Project AWARE video “The Ugly Journey of Our Trash” below.
Related: Scuba Divers’ Photos Show a Plastic Underworld
Top photo credit: Rosscophoto / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND
