Focus on: Marine Conservation Society

The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), "is the voice for everyone who loves the sea"; they are the UK charity for the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. They work to secure a future for our living seas and to save our threatened sea life before it is lost forever. Their work ensures that the sea’s rich wildlife can be restored, fish stocks grow more plentiful, and our beaches and seawater become cleaner. They depend entirely on the generosity and enthusiasm of their supporters to continue to care for our seas, shores and wildlife.

I have been volunteering for the MCS for more than nine years now, helping on the committee of the Plymouth Local Group by organising regular beach cleans, Seasearch dives and meetings and organising fundraisers with donations from local businesses. They are a brilliant charity to volunteer for and I would encourage anyone reading this blog to get involved somehow.

The MCS run many different projects and campaigns that you can join in with. They have an annual Beachwatch event each September, where they encourage people to clean their local beaches, both on land and underwater. They use the results of these beach clean surveys to tackle marine litter at source, at local, national and international levels.

Related to this, they run Litter Campaigns, such as "Don't Let Go!" and "No Butts on the Beach". They also encourage people to Go Plastic Bag Free and to Bag It and Bin It, Don't Flush It. They also produce the Good Beach Guide, a guide to Britain's cleanest beaches.

The MCS run Fishonline, the buyer's guide to sustainable seafood. Fishonline is an in-depth guide to the fish types available to UK fishmongers, chefs and retailers, designed to complement the Good Fish Guide web pages that help consumers make a truly informed choice in seafoods. The Good Fish Guide is designed to help you make the best choice at the fish counter. It helps you choose fish from well-managed stocks and fish caught using methods that minimise damage to marine wildlife and habitats.

You can report Wildlife Sightings to the MCS, including jellyfish, basking sharks and marine turtles. You can even report active beach sewers on UK beaches. The MCS are campaigning for Marine Reserves and you can vote online to add Your Voice to their campaign to safeguard our seas.

The MCS works with Government, industry and the public to campaign for cleaner seas and beaches, better wildlife protection and sustainable fisheries. If you want to support the MCS, you can become a member, donate to an MCS appeal, adopt a turtle, leave a legacy, or fundraise for the MCS. Your company can support the MCS, you can volunteer and take other action and you can even make your own collection box to collect donations.

Involving people in the fight for ocean recovery is core to the MCS' work, so whether you join them, donate or support one of their many projects and campaigns, you can help our seas and wildlife recover.

Do your bit to protect sharks

Sharks are often portrayed as dangerous marine animals who prey on humans. In fact, more people are killed by coconuts each year than by sharks! Sharks are apex predators and maintain balance in the marine ecosystem. The sea provides 70% of the world’s oxygen, essential for life.

However, three sharks are killed every second – that’s 73 million sharks each year. They have inhabited the world’s oceans for 400 million years but humans are now driving them to extinction. Much of this is due to the vast international demand for shark fins for soup. The only thing in the world more lucrative than the shark fin industry is the illegal drugs trade.

The disappearance of sharks could have devastating consequences for the marine environment – not to mention the whole planet. So what can you do to help?

Project AWARE are "a global force for divers" and are currently running an online campaign asking divers to sign their Shark Petition. Sport Diver are also supporting this campaign - and so are we! You can sign the petition by filling in the simple form, below. Please spread news of this campaign to your friends, family - anyone who will listen! You do need to be aged 18 years or older to sign the petition but by doing so, you can help give sharks a fighting chance.