Eugene Skin Divers Supply supports Project AWARE® as our ecology partner. Project AWARE® is a global movement for ocean protection powered by a community of adventurers. They connect the passion for ocean adventure with the purpose of marine conservation.

We are doing our part to create both local and global change for the ocean and the communities who depend on it. Our local actions collectively protect the most vulnerable marine species and decrease pollution. We work together for a clean, healthy ocean – and we have fun doing it! We support the AWARE® mission and believe in a future where the oceans no longer need protecting.

Marine Debris

Marine debris is a real problem. It is not only unsightly, it’s dangerous to sea life, hazardous to human health, and costly to our economies. Marine animals become entangled in debris, and even mistake it for food - often with fatal results. Divers, swimmers and beach goers can be directly harmed by encounters with marine debris or its toxins. The environmental damage caused by plastic debris alone is estimated at US$13 billion a year.

With a deep love and appreciation of our underwater world, our collective goal is to work within our dive community, along with dive leaders and ocean advocates, to become stewards for our ocean planet and secure real and direct environmental victories. With Project AWARE®, our adventures above and below water, fins on and off, allow us to see what others often don’t - bringing to the surface what’s beneath the waves. We experience first-hand how quickly overfishing and pollution can alter underwater life, irreversibly damaging ecosystems that are critical to marine health. Project AWARE® works to reduce underwater impacts of marine debris and prevent trash from entering the ocean in the first place.

Dive Against Debris

But global change is also empowered by grassroots action. That’s why we are trying to do our part by supporting Dive Against Debris®, the first and only marine debris survey of its kind focused on scuba divers reporting types and quantities of debris found on the ocean floor. By using and sharing the data reported by Dive Against Debris® volunteers, online and through our partnerships, we're helping bridge the gap in knowledge and build convincing arguments to lead to change.

If you’re a certified diver, you can collect and report important data. Through Project AWARE’s Dive Against Debris®, you can help remove marine debris on your dive and report the results. Together we make the ocean safer for marine life, and more importantly, the information you report helps inform policy change. With your help, Project AWARE® can use the information you report through Dive Against Debris® to convince individuals, governments and businesses to act against marine debris.

Dive Against Debris Specialists

Eugene Skin Divers Supply also certifies divers as Dive Against Debris® specialists. Students gain the knowledge and skills to activate their inner citizen scientist by taking the Dive Against Debris® Specialty. They l learn to complete Dive Against Debris® surveys under the guidance of a PADI® Professional and help keep our our local dive sites healthier by removing trash.

If you're a PADI (Junior) Open Water Diver who is at least 12 years old, you can enroll in the Dive Against Debris Specialty course.

Training starts in the classroom by learning:

• - About marine debris, the damage done, what it is, where it comes from and how divers are part of the solution.
• - How to establish a Dive Against Debris® survey, the survey frequency, sites, profiles and equipment.
  Also the use of photography and knowing what to leave behind.
• - How to make your survey count. The five easy steps to report the debris you've removed to maximize each survey's benefits.
  How to join the global Project AWARE movement of scuba divers protecting our ocean planet.
• - During the one required open water dive, students conduct a Dive Against Debris® survey, including weighing, sorting, recording, disposing and reporting your marine debris to Project AWARE.

Adopt a Dive Site

We have taken our commitment to the fight against ocean trash to the next level through Adopt a Dive Site®. As an Adopt a Dive Site Dive Center we regularly organize and document repeated marine debris surveys to help improve the health of aquatic ecosystems, but more importantly, we are providing valuable, much-needed information about marine debris to help inform policy change.

Protect what you love and join citizens scientists everywhere. Join a dive or get certified and lead a Dive Against Debris® survey every time you dive! Be part of the solution and make #EveryDiveaSurveyDive!