Save Our Shores (SOS) is a nonprofit organization that works to "help create healthy and lasting ecosystems in the Monterey Bay and nearby areas through fair environmental actions."

SOS has created the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), stopped offshore oil drilling along California's Central Coast, started the well-known Dockwalkers clean boating program, helped ban single-use plastic bags in more than 30 areas, and organized beach cleanups and educational programs for students in grades K-12 in the Monterey Bay region.

Now, the organization focuses on advocacy, reducing marine debris (especially plastic pollution), and helping people become ocean protectors. This includes teaching the community about local watersheds and marine protected areas (MPA), solving the plastic pollution problem by creating local rules and hosting cleanups, supporting efforts to protect habitats, teaching people how to deal with climate change, and continuing their Sanctuary Stewards and Dockwalker programs.

History

Save Our Shores was started in 1978 by Karen DeLaney, Joan Harrington, Karol Mountz, John Murray, Bonnie and Gordon Schmeisser, Kay Smothers, Kim Tschantz, Van Tunstall, and Nelson Wolf. The group was made up entirely of volunteers, with no paid staff, until Dan Haifley became the executive director in 1986. Haifley held the position of executive director until 1993. The current executive director is Katie Thompson, who began her role in 2024.

Programs

Save Our Shores has been organizing beach, river, kayak, and inland cleanups since 1978. This nonprofit group mainly holds cleanups in public, private, and school locations across Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. In 2017, Save Our Shores led 243 cleanups. During these events, volunteers and the group removed more than 8 tons of trash. Since 2008, information has been gathered from each cleanup to help understand pollution and marine debris problems in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Pacific Ocean. For example, in 2017, the most common items collected were small plastic pieces (about 13,000), cigarette butts (over 12,000), microplastics, and styrofoam pieces (nearly 7,000). Many of Save Our Shores’ efforts to reduce pollution, such as supporting local rules against single-use plastics and polystyrene containers, are based on data from these cleanups.

Sanctuary stewards are the main group of volunteers for Save Our Shores who work to protect the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This program teaches community members to become educators, advocates, and experts on issues affecting the Monterey Bay. They help prevent pollution by giving talks at schools, leading beach cleanups, joining community events, and working on research projects, such as collecting and recording data.

The Dockwalker program was created in 1999 to help boaters keep their boats and the water clean. Dockwalkers talk directly with boaters in local harbors and give them kits with supplies to clean up small oil spills and resources to properly dispose of used oil and waste. Because of its success, the Save Our Shores Dockwalker program was used by the California Coastal Commission across the entire state in 2000.