Ocean Defenders Alliance

Does this statistic bother you too?

Every year, more than 800,000 tons of commercial fishing gear is lost in our global oceans.

We don’t like it either. Want to know what we do about it?

Please tell me!

YOU are vital in the fight against marine debris

We have the boats and we know where to find ghost gear and dangerous debris. Your financial support will help us get there!

Yes, I want to help ODA!

Are you ready to “dive in” with ODA?

There are many ways you can help: from right where you are, or you can join us on a boat or beach.

I’m ready to get active!

We are defenders of the ocean

ODA volunteers can be vastly different in age, backgrounds, skillsets, and interests. But we come together for one shared cause: To clean our oceans and make them safer for all life.

Discover what we’re all about

Ocean Defenders Alliance

Operating from ship and shore, ODA's all-volunteer boat and dive crews remove abandoned fishing nets, traps, lines, plastic, and other man-made debris threatening ocean wildlife and habitats.

Ocean Defenders Alliance

Operating from ship and shore, ODA's all-volunteer boat and dive crews remove abandoned fishing nets, traps, lines, plastic, and other man-made debris threatening ocean wildlife and habitats.

Where we make a difference

ODA has two main geographical areas of operation. We have boats, divers, and onshore volunteers stationed in Southern California and the Hawaiian islands.

California

California has served as our homebase since ODA was founded in 2002. We remove debris of all kinds in the coastal waters and shorelines from San Diego to Ventura County.

Hawai'i

The high-volume of ocean debris in Hawai’i is alarming. Since 2017, we’ve had boats and volunteers on the Big Island and Oahu cleaning debris from beaches and in the water.