Today, the organization primarily focuses on advocacy, marine debris (specifically plastic pollution), and helping community members become ocean stewards.
This includes educating the greater community about local watersheds and marine protected areas (MPA), tackling the plastic pollution problem by passing local ordinances and hosting cleanups, supporting habitat conservation efforts, educating and empowering community members to help them face oncoming climate change, and continuing to implement their historic Sanctuary Stewards and Dockwalker programs.
[2] Many of Save Our Shores’ advocacy efforts, including local bans on single-use plastics and polystyrene containers, are driven by cleanup data analysis.
The program prepares community members to become educators, advocates and experts on issues affecting the Monterey Bay and work toward local pollution prevention.
[5] Sanctuary Stewards give academic presentations, lead beach cleanups, participate in community events, and work on various research projects, such as data collection and entry.