Ocean Defenders Alliance
Operating from ship and shore, ODA's all-volunteer boat and dive crews remove derelict 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 derelict 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.
You are needed!
Fuel ODA's boats, and sustain our efforts to clean our oceans.
Dive in with us - on our boats, on shore, and from home.
You want to know the latest & how to help: sign up now!
ODA's Articles
Read about ODA's actions and events in California, Hawaii, and elsewhere.
ODA-Hawai’i Cleanup at Fish Camp Yields Great Results
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
Fish Camp is now on our regular cleanup site list! It sure needs it because true to its name, people set-up camp there and fish from the cliff. Fishing equipment is constantly lost into the water...
LegaSea Gets Re-Wired and Trap Trackers Go Airborne
Saturday, January 15, 2022
Our holiday break was not what you think! We were forced to get major repairs on our flagship vessel LegaSea, so Captain Kurt took the opportunity to continue ODA's annual trap tracking project....
What’s It Like to Clean-up a Wreck?
Friday, December 17, 2021
One of our commitments is to return to debris sites until we have removed everything possible, so this day we returned to the “scene of the debris crime” to haul out more ghost gear…
Tracking Ocean Wildlife Traps by Air and by Sea
Friday, December 03, 2021
One of the main types of ghost gear we remove is ocean wildlife traps. Lobster traps are voluminous in the areas where we work so we go up in the air and under the sea to locate as many as possible...
Fish Camp in Oahu Waters Gets Much Needed Cleaning
Wednesday, November 24, 2021
This site is near China Walls where we do our ocean cleaning often, so we were glad conditions allowed us to get out to Fish Camp and get rid of a lot of abandoned fishing gear and help a entangled...
Report Ocean Debris
If you see ocean debris please let us know right away! Visit our Debris Report page.