Our Marine Debris Campaign has been conducting beach clean-ups around Australia for 30 months - that's two and half years! Over this time, our tireless volunteers have logged more than 379 beach and river clean-ups; that's the equivalent to one every 3 days somewhere in Australia! 

It's an incredible feat and achievement that demonstrates the sheer passion, stamina and hard work of all our volunteers and supporting members of the public. 

All of this has been achieved without government funding, grants or help from any other body but has only been made possible by the generosity of donors and the volunteers themselves who contribute in many ways. 

Exactly why we need to continue to clean up the marine environment has been highlighted this month with reports from our coordinators of extraordinary numbers of of micro plastics flooding the beaches the likes of which we haven’t seen before. 

The awareness of the damaging impact plastic is having has been at an all time high but along with this comes more images of  injuries and death caused by this form of pollution. 

In the last week we have seen photos of a whale that has lost its tail due to a fishing net entanglement off the coast of Columbia, a dolphin killed from ingesting a nappy and another lucky one released from ropes.

In our own backyard on the Swan River in Western Australia, two river dolphins, a mother and calf, died due to fishing line wrapped around their fins and both were impacted by a plastic bag which acted as a sea anchor slowing them down and inhibiting their ability to feed and swim freely. Sadly there are just 22 dolphins left in the estuary today.

These needless deaths are why Sea Shepherd teams continue to fight for a clean environment and you can join us to Take Direct Action on the beaches by attending a clean-up near you!   

Even though Plastic Free July is over continuing to reduce your plastic impact is vital. By refusing single use items sends a clear message to retailers such as Coles that we do not accept their unnecessary use of plastic. 

Together, our actions will save a lives as its absolutely true that every piece really does count. 

To get involved in our clean-ups around the country please visit our Facebook Page to find out more.