Ocean Defenders Alliance's mission is to work toward clean, healthy marine ecosystems through documentation, education, technology improvements, and meaningful action.
The large majority of this active work is done at sea, from aboard our 40-foot vessel the Clearwater. The boat crews are volunteer deckhands, mechanics, divers, and our captain is ODA Founder and President Kurt Lieber. Our team's primary action goal: Remove man-made pollution from the oceans, leaving marine habitat and wildlife in a safe and thriving environment.
To date, the majority of our work has been off the coast of Los Angeles County in Southern California, and we also operate off of Orange and San Diego Counties. In the near future we are planning to expand northward to Ventura Country and the San Francisco Bay area.
The ODA vessel Clearwater in action around San Pedro HarborThe Clearwater has called San Pedro Harbor (California) home since 2007. We have been steadily cleaning debris in the area for many years. This summer, as a part of our continuing commitment to proper stewardship of our oceanic neighborhood, we will visit all remaining debris sites known to us within a 5-mile radius of our docking space – from the northwest corner of Palos Verdes, west to Catalina and south to Long Beach.
In this relatively small but intensively exploited area, over the last 10 years we have already removed:
Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of work to be done. Commercial fishing vessels continually leave behind tons of lost and/or abandoned gear...and we are going to remove it!
We have the boat, the volunteers, and the cleanup plan...but we need additional resources to achieve our goals. With your financial support, we will realize our objectives and get this important work done!
ODA eliminates dangerous man-made debris which pose serious threats to ocean wildlife and habitats.
