Join us Sunday, August 19 at 9 a.m. for this FREE event to help clean up Ballast Point Pier one of Tampa’s most-popular piers! Adventure Outfitters provides one free tank rental/air fill and highly discounted gear rental for all of our cleanup events. Please see our full list of events here: https://adventuretampa.com/dive-against-debris/

Globally, annual plastic production has boomed from 1.7 million tons in 1950 to almost 300 million. As much as 250 million metric tons of plastic could make its way into the ocean by 2025.

As scuba divers, we are invested in the beauty and conservation of our oceans and waterways. Monthly, Adventure Outfitters partners with Keeping Tampa Bay Beautiful and Project AWARE to clean up the inner-coastal and inner-Bay waterways including Ballast Point Park and Picnic Island in Tampa Bay that are the gateways to our oceans.

Our Dive Against Debris Program:

Our program started in August, 2014 completing several cleanup dives, collecting more than 1,200 pounds of debris and recycling materials. In addition to cleaning up local dive sites, we distribute our data surveys to Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and Project AWARE for long-term analysis and research. We rely on our loyal volunteers that brave the poor visibility to help us clean up these sites. Without them, we would not be able to continually improve our community of unsightly debris, and create a safe haven for the local aquatic flora and fauna.

It’s Fun!

In addition to managing debris and collecting, we also include a prize for the most-unique items, a kayaker prize and several more for the hard work of our volunteers! We provide a free air fill or a free air tank rental and we highly discount rental gear for our volunteers.

Who is Affected by Marine Debris:

663 marine species; 100% of sea turtles; 20% of all seabirds; Nearly 50% of all marine mammal species; Human health and our economy; Damages and destroys corals, sponges and anemones; Damages recreational and commercial vessels; Local fisherman; and Affects the beauty of our beaches and shores.

both divers and non-divers can help end this problem by picking up debris before it floats out and deposits on the ocean floor where it can’t be retrieved. When you participate in clean up dives, you are diving for change. You make the ocean safer for marine life; the data you collect helps inform policy to improve waste management by helping convince individuals, governments and businesses to act on marine debris. Your voice and actions can change public opinion, behavior and public policies so less trash is dumped in the environment and handled properly.

Our long-term data surveys give the best results. They build a more convincing argument for change and help identify local seasonal trends, such as those caused by weather patterns, tourist seasons, industries and/or events.

We need divers, shore personnel, data collectors, and kayakers. All volunteers and families are welcome!

If you haven’t been to a clean up dive and are interested, please stop by the shop for more information. We would love to have you join us!