San Diego Whale Watch Officially Adopts Ocean Beach Dog Beach

At San Diego Whale Watch, ocean advocacy is more than something we talk about on the water — it’s something we live out in our community.

We’re proud to officially announce that we achieved our 2025 goal of adopting Ocean Beach Dog Beach.

This milestone represents more than a cleanup effort. It reflects our ongoing commitment to protecting our coastline, educating our community, and creating more opportunities for people of all ages to become ocean stewards.

A Year of Meaningful Impact at Ocean Beach Dog Beach

In 2025, we hosted three beach cleanups at Dog Beach and Ocean Beach, working alongside volunteers and community partners to help keep this beloved stretch of coastline clean and safe for people, pets, and wildlife.

Together, we removed a total of 526 pounds of trash from the beach, including:

• 499.8 pounds of landfill waste
• 26 pounds of recyclables

Among the most commonly collected items were cigarette butts, nurdles, and plastic waste.

Nurdles, which are tiny plastic pieces less than two millimeters in size, are especially harmful because they can easily make their way into the ocean and be mistaken for food by marine life. Seeing just how many of these small pollutants collect along the shoreline is a powerful reminder that everyday waste has a direct impact on our local ecosystem.

And because Ocean Beach is always keeping it real, we also found some truly unexpected items along the way, including:

• a skateboard
• an office chair
• a windsurfer sail
• a kiteboard sail
• a baseball
• a fake Christmas tree
• a metal railing
• instrument mount pieces
• a quart of ice cream
• and even one fish found on land

Ocean Beach definitely gave us a little bit of everything.

What We Accomplished in 2025

The adoption of Ocean Beach Dog Beach was made possible by the collective effort of our community.

Across all eight beach cleanups hosted in 2025, we removed a total of 1,728.6 pounds of trash, including:

• 1,619.83 pounds of landfill waste
• 108.77 pounds of recyclables

We were also joined by 421 volunteers throughout the year, including 187 volunteers who supported our Dog Beach cleanup efforts and helped make this adoption possible.

That kind of turnout reminds us that there are so many people in San Diego who care deeply about the health of our beaches and ocean.

Why This Work Matters

For us, beach cleanups are about much more than removing trash.

They are opportunities to connect people directly to the environment, show them what is being left behind on our beaches, and help them understand how easily that pollution can enter the ocean and impact marine life.

They are also a chance to educate our community — including children and families — about what it means to be an ocean steward.

When people see the amount of plastic, cigarette butts, and debris collected in just a few hours, it creates a deeper understanding of the role we all play in protecting our coastline. That awareness is what turns one cleanup into long-term advocacy.

Check out all the ways we integrate sustainability into our day-to-day operations.

Thank You to Our Partners

We could not have adopted Ocean Beach Dog Beach without the support of the incredible partners who helped make these cleanups possible.

A heartfelt thank you to:

We’re grateful to work alongside businesses and organizations that share our commitment to environmental stewardship and community action.

Looking Ahead: Mission Beach in 2026

Now that we’ve proudly adopted Ocean Beach Dog Beach, we’re already looking ahead to our next goal: adopting Mission Beach in 2026.

We just hosted a cleanup at Mission Beach over Earth Day weekend, and those results are coming soon. We’re excited to keep building momentum and continue creating opportunities for our community to take part in meaningful environmental action.

Join Us in Protecting Our Coastline

At San Diego Whale Watch, we believe that protecting the ocean starts on shore.

Every cleanup, every volunteer, and every conversation matters. Whether you join us for a whale watching tour, participate in a cleanup, or simply make more sustainable choices in your everyday life, you are helping protect the marine environment we all love.

We’re proud of what we accomplished at Ocean Beach Dog Beach, and we’re even more excited for what’s ahead.

Want to be part of the next cleanup? Stay connected and help us reach our 2026 goal of adopting Mission Beach.