Cleaning is the first step. Recording is what ensures real change.

Every year in the Azores, dozens of volunteer campaigns are carried out to clean the coastline — including beaches and rocky shorelines — as well as the seafloor. These initiatives, led by non-governmental organizations, associations, citizen groups, and public entities (regional or local), aim to remove marine litter, raise environmental awareness, and mobilize society for active ocean protection.

Although many of these cleanups are one-off or spontaneous — often taking place in easily accessible areas, high-use zones, or places with visible litter accumulation — they are commonly organized around key environmental dates such as International Zero Waste Day, Earth Day, European Maritime Day, World Oceans Day, or International Coastal Cleanup Day.

To add scientific value and long-term impact to these efforts, the Regional Government established a regional monitoring program in 2015 based on the principles of citizen science. This program transforms each volunteer cleanup into an opportunity to collect meaningful data on marine litter in the Azorean territory.

The collected data — using standardized methods and technical support — complements findings from scientific monitoring programs and contributes directly to the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), particularly the assessment of Descriptor 10 – Marine Litter.

Objectives:

• Apply a simple, standardized methodology to monitor coastal cleanup campaigns;

• Train qualified personnel to support, record, and report data from coastal and underwater cleanups;

• Develop a regional database for storing and managing collected information, compatible with the Azores Marine Spatial Information System (SIG-MAR);

• Implement a digital reporting platform accessible to the public and to campaign organizers;

• Analyze collected data annually in line with the criteria and indicators of Descriptor 10 (MSFD);

• Incorporate and make data publicly available through SIG-MAR Azores and the Marine Litter Portal, promoting analysis and knowledge production on marine litter;

• Disseminate results to encourage the continuation and expansion of these initiatives, while strengthening public awareness of this environmental issue.

📢 Technical Report 2015–2024 Now Available

The Regional Directorate for Maritime Policies (DRPM), the regional public administration service responsible for marine litter monitoring in the Azores, presents the Technical Report on Voluntary Coastal and Underwater Cleanup Campaigns (2015–2024).

This document compiles and analyses a decade of data collected by organisations and volunteers across all islands, enabling the identification of critical areas, main litter types, and deposition patterns. The results highlight the value of these campaigns as a tool for citizen science and decision-making in the conservation of marine ecosystems.

📄 Access the full report here:  📥 Technical Report 2015-2024

More than just cleaning, it's about understanding: record what you collect using the campaign form!

Download the forms here:

- Monitoring form for coastal clean-up actions
- Monitoring form for underwater clean-up actions

Submit your results here: Online Form!

All submitted data will be stored in a database, and the results can be viewed under,  “Results”!