With more tools and resources available at our fingertips, there has never been a better time to step up as an ocean guardian!
Why Support Marine Life Conservation?
We live on a blue planet! The ocean makes up more than 70% of Earth’s surface and is responsible for every second breath we take. It provides us with food, medicine and energy resources and supports our economy. It is how we ship and receive goods, where we play and a constant source of inspiration!
As divers, we strive to experience vibrant and healthy ocean ecosystems on every dive. Therefore, when we make conscious decisions that help protect the ocean, we are also safeguarding its biodiversity and beauty for future generations.
Here are a few of our favorite ways to support marine life conservation.
1. Become a PADI Torchbearer
Spark change for life below the surface by becoming a PADI Torchbearer. By learning, caring and sharing about why the ocean matters in your own community, you can inspire others to take action and support conservation efforts.
Joining the Torchbearer community adds your voice and your actions to the collective to bring about meaningful change. It is power in numbers. As PADI President & CEO Drew Richardson says, “A billion Torchbearers is a needle mover for the ocean.”
2. Reduce Your Waste and Plastic Pollution
According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, “Marine debris is one of the most pervasive global threats to the health of the world’s coastal areas, oceans and waterways. It is an issue of local, regional, national and international concern.”
Why? It harms wildlife and can damage and degrade fragile habitats, like coral reefs and seagrass meadows. Marine debris can also interfere with navigational safety.
Ocean pollution may also negatively impact our economy. People often travel to dive destinations like the Caribbean and Hawaii expecting pristine conditions. If what they encounter differs from the idyllic paradise in their minds, they may not return, and the local economy will suffer. Marine debris also causes economic losses to fishing and maritime industries, threatens the well-being and quality of life of coastal communities and even threatens human health and safety.
Marine Debris Harms Marine Life
Most people understand that the amount of trash in our ocean is bad, but fewer people know how this impacts marine life.
Marine debris and plastic pollution injure and kill millions of marine and coastal species every year. For example, ghost nets and old fishing lines entangle species like whales, sharks, seals and turtles, which often leads to amputation and or drowning.
Seabirds and fish ingest large amounts of trash and microplastics. These, unfortunately, don’t break down and biodegrade in their bodies. Sea turtles often mistake floating plastic bags for their favorite food – jellyfish. Plastic bags can block their intestinal tracks, which can mimic fullness (even when starving) and can keep them from absorbing critical nutrients. Juvenile sea turtles feed on microplastics in the water column that can end up blocking and rupturing their digestive tracks.
We Need To Stop Marine Debris “Upstream”
So, what can we do? Remarkably, 80% of trash in our ocean comes from land! The majority of this trash is comprised of harmful plastics that do not biodegrade, but instead, accumulate and move up the food chain.
Therefore, by reducing the amount of waste and plastics we create on land, we help to stop the problem “upstream” at the source – before it enters our precious marine and coastal environments, and before it harms the marine life we love.
3. Participate in Clean-Ups for Marine Life Conservation
The first priority is reducing our trash; the second is removing marine debris and plastic pollution from our waters and shores. An easy and fun way to do this is to participate in a clean-up, which can be conducted above and below the surface for maximum impact.
Anytime you’re walking along the water’s edge or on a boat, you can be on the lookout for trash. Conservation organizations like Surfrider and The Ocean Cleanup run regular clean-ups.
Additionally, as divers, we always have the option to dive with a purpose. Check out our Dive Against Debris Specialty course! Learn more about the impact of marine debris on our ocean before getting in and making a difference with your own two fins. Bonus: you’ll learn how data from these dives help to inform better waste management policies that protect ocean habitats and marine life.
Cool Clean-Up Events
If you’re looking to really make a big impact, participate in an awesome clean-up event. For example, consider joining I.CARE’s annual spring trash derby and couple it with an amazing dive trip to the Florida Keys.
On the west coast of the USA, you can join the annual underwater clean-up on Catalina Island. Every year, nearly 600 divers scour the piers and mooring fields for debris – freeing entangled animals and competing for prizes at the same time. In 2026, for example, 250 divers removed almost 1200 pounds (544 kilograms) of trash from Avalon Harbor!
4. Make Sustainable Choices for Marine Life Conservation
As a consumer, we have a lot of power to help our ocean. The choices we make in regards to food, clothing, transportation, cleaning products and more have environmental ripple effects. Therefore, when we make sustainable choices, we keep the environment in mind with every purchase.
First, we can ditch disposables and opt for reusable items instead, including straws, utensils, water bottles and shopping bags. Each time we do, we reduce waste and keep our oceans safe. If you’re already using reusables, consider gifting them to family and friends to help them get started on their sustainability journey.
We can also choose clothing made from recycled plastics. For example, SeaMorgens and many other companies now make swimwear exclusively from recycled fishing nets. Most swimwear fabric comes from virgin plastics, so this is a great up-cycling solution.
When we make sustainable choices in our everyday lives, we actively support marine life conservation and healthier seas.
5. Support Marine Protected Areas
You may have heard of “30×30” – an ambitious and necessary goal to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. Scientists agree that this is the minimum protection necessary to ensure that ecosystems remain both functional and resilient and that species are protected.
For the ocean, this will help restore the health of the seas, provide refuge to wildlife, reverse existing adverse impacts, increase resilience to climate change and sustain ecosystem services to humanity. In short, it ensures that marine life will have a healthy ocean to live in. Pretty important!
As of 2026, less than 5% of the global ocean is fully protected. Supporting local, regional, national and international efforts to establish and expand marine protected areas helps us collectively get closer to 30×30.
Don’t Forget Critical Shoreline Ecosystems
Critical protection can also be extended to important nearshore habitats, like seagrass meadows and mangroves. Both of these environments are considered blue carbon ecosystems as they absorb large amounts of atmospheric carbon – even more than the Amazon Rainforest! Therefore, seagrass and mangrove restoration can be our “secret weapon” against climate change. Planting and conserving more of these unique plants buys us time to adapt, mitigate and find new solutions to deal with the climate crisis.
These marine ecosystems also serve as critical nursery habitats and foraging grounds for many marine species. Numerous fish species, sharks, invertebrates and crustaceans rely on mangroves and seagrass meadows to grow large enough to survive on the reef. Therefore, by protecting these areas, as part of a 30×30 effort, we help to protect marine life and the planet.
6. Join a Citizen Science Project
You don’t need a PhD to contribute to marine biology and ocean conservation! Citizen science is an incredible movement that allows everyday ocean lovers to collect vital data for conservation projects. This research approach can be quite useful, as it allows scientists to gather more data from a much larger area than they could do on their own.
There are many ways divers can contribute to citizen science through PADI AWARE Foundation® programs. Through Dive Against Debris®, divers remove marine debris from underwater environments and report what they find, helping build one of the world’s largest underwater marine debris databases. That data has been used to support policy changes, inform conservation action and highlight the scale of ocean pollution.
Divers can also take part in the Global Shark & Ray Census by logging sightings of sharks and rays during dives. These observations help researchers better understand species populations, migration patterns and where vulnerable species need greater protection.
Contributing to citizen science through programs like these is a meaningful way to enjoy diving while actively helping protect the ocean.
7. Support Responsible Wildlife Encounters
Making eco-minded decisions while on vacation is just as important as in our daily lives. While on a dive trip, it’s important to always follow a strict ‘look but don’t touch’ policy and to choose an eco-friendly tour or dive operator.
Touching marine life, like turtles, sharks, dolphins and even corals, can disrupt natural behaviors, damage protective coatings and or cause unnecessary stress. For example, many marine animals have a protective mucus layer that protects against parasites and infections. Touching them can strip this layer away, leaving them vulnerable to disease. Research has also shown that humans can transfer harmful bacteria and fungi to marine animals, which can be devastating for species with no natural immunity.
Feeding animals may also cause certain individuals to habituate to the presence of humans. This might lead to a change in normal behavior, like an increase in aggressiveness, or cause marine life to interact and approach boats too closely (leading to propeller injuries, for example). It is therefore always best to leave wildlife WILD.
Choosing an eco-friendly tour or dive operator is just as important. After all, they will ensure their procedures center around sustainable tourism practices. A good place to start is to look for globally recognized accreditations, like Green Fins, which is implemented by The Reef-World Foundation and the UN Environment Programme. This accreditation means operators follow strict guidelines that promote sustainable diving and snorkeling. Also keep a look out for PADI Eco Centers. These centers participate in the PADI AWARE Adopt the Blue™ program, allow divers to participate in conservation or citizen science projects and are members of Green Fins.
Ready To Make a Difference?
Consider joining PADI Club! By joining the world’s largest community of ocean lovers, 5% of your PADI Club membership fee will be donated to the PADI AWARE Foundation to help support global ocean conservation and marine animal protection. PADI Club also allows divers to stay connected with the latest in diving and underwater adventures while obtaining exclusive discounts and helping to save the ocean.
