About Us

OCEAN DEFENDERS ALLIANCE

Ocean Defenders Alliance (ODA) is a nonprofit grassroots marine conservation organization founded in 2004 and based in Orange County, California. ODA is committed to protecting Southern California's near shore reef and seabed ecosystems from dangerous man-made objects, especially derelict commercial fishing gear.

A significant amount of “Ghost Gear” - lost and abandoned lobster/crab pots, nets, and lines - is generated annually by commercial fishing operations off the coast of California. The ghost gear pollutes and degrades water quality and poses life-threatening risks to marine wildlife (mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates) which can become needlessly entrapped and die. Ghost gear can seriously damage vital reef structure during storms and threatens fragile kelp beds by unbalancing the food chain. Drifting lines and nets near the surface pose a navigational hazard to boaters and can possibly entangle and drown ocean surfers, swimmers, and scuba divers.

With the endorsement from the California Department of Fish & Game and local authorities, ODA’s dedicated team of technical divers is striving to make Orange County’s coastal waters safer and cleaner for marine wildlife as well as humans by permanently removing ghost gear and checking for illegal fishing activities. Animals, such as lobsters, found trapped alive are carefully liberated by ODA, thus provided a new chance to properly live and breed.

This is where ODA comes into the scene. We have a small fleet of two boats. Our lead boat, "The Garibaldi", has been outfitted to support a dive team that works to remove this lost commercial fishing gear from our reefs and liberate animals that may be trapped by the ghost gear.

Another goal for ODA is to assist the California Department of Fish and Game in monitoring aspects of their studies of populations of fish and invertebrates. ODA will also assist the Pacific Wildlife Project to rescue injured marine birds (we have volunteers that have been trained in handling and assisting injured pelicans) and we plan to work with scientific organizations to supply data regarding animal populations and reef quality.

ODA is a registered California non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and depends on gifts, grants and donations to continue its life-saving work. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today to support ODA. Thank You.

ODA diver liberates a lobster from an abandoned trap

From the Lobster Library:

According to a recent status report by the California Department of Fish and Game, a typical California Spiny Lobster (2.6 inch carapace length) releases about 100,000 eggs. Whereas, a lobster that reaches 3.6 inch carapace length would release 680,000 eggs! It takes 7 to 11 years for a lobster to reach the legal size of 3.25 carapace length.

Lobsters feed on algae and a wide variety of invertebrates such as snails, mussels, sea urchins and clams. In turn, the lobsters are then are eaten by sheephead, cabezon, octopus, moray eels, a few kinds of sharks, rockfish and giant sea bass (and, of course, humans). Saving just a few of these reproductive lobsters can amount to millions of larvae being released back into their habitat.