Save Our Shores
| Abbreviation | SOS |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Focus | Marine Conservation |
| Headquarters | Santa Cruz, CA |
|
Region
|
Central Coast of California |
| Methods |
|
| Website | saveourshores |
Save Our Shores (SOS) is a marine conservation nonprofit dedicated to caring for California’s Central Coast through “ocean awareness, advocacy, and citizen action.”
Over the last 35 years, SOS has been responsible for establishing the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), preventing offshore oil drilling along the Central Coast, developing the nationally renowned Dockwalkers clean boating program, banning single-use plastic bags in over 30 jurisdictions, and leading various marine conservation beach cleanups and K-12 educational programs throughout the Monterey Bay area.
Today, the organization primarily focuses on clean boating, marine debris (specifically plastic pollution), and ocean awareness. This includes educating youth about local watersheds and marine protected areas (MPA), tackling debris on beaches and rivers by continuing to host mass cleanups, supporting habitat conservation efforts, conducting marine waste research, reducing single-use plastics throughout the community, and continuing to implement both their historic Sanctuary Stewards and Dockwalker programs.
Save Our Shores has been conducting beach, river, and inland cleanups since 1978. The nonprofit primarily hosts its public, private, and school cleanups throughout San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties. In 2014, Save Our Shores led a total of 348 cleanups. During these cleanups, Save Our Shores and community volunteers removed a total of 49,469 pounds of waste. Data is collected from each cleanup to identify pollution and marine debris issues impacting the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Pacific ocean at large. For example, in 2014, the top three items collected were cigarette butts (109,844), small plastic pieces (46,978) like microplastics, and plastic food wrappers (27,317). Many of Save Our Shores’ advocacy efforts, including local bans on single-use plastics and polystyrene containers, are driven by cleanup data analysis.
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Wikipedia