Rubbish in the oceans is a major cause of death to many marine organisms.
Sea turtles have been around for approximately 100 million years, in numbers too large to count. However, within the last 100 years their numbers have dramatically declined, placing all seven species on the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Species.
Sea turtles
face so many threats around the world, one of the most serious is the amount of rubbish in our oceans. Plastics in the ocean are mistaken for jellyfish and ingested by turtles. The plastics sit in the turtle’s stomach, as they are indigestible and prevent the turtle from feeding - leaving the turtle to slowly starve to death. Turtles can also become entangled in debris and drown. A disease called fibropapillomas, caused by pollution, is having a devastating effect on turtle populations.
That's why Project AWARE's DIve Against Debris project is so important...any little thing that we can do to make the ocean environment safer for endangered species counts.
In support of this, Scuba Junkie is going to hold a continuous 5 hour underwater clean up on Pulau Mabul on 29th May 2014. We have chosen 5 hours because this is the average amount of time a resting turtle can spend underwater on one breath! We will have two teams doing this clean up.
We ask for you to support our event by donating, however much you can spare, to Project Aware. Like we said, any little thing we do or get, counts.
Thank you for helping us to make a difference.