Marine Cleanup Initiative (MCI) has received media attention across local, statewide, national, and specialty marine/outdoor outlets throughout its history. Coverage highlights everything from early marine-debris removal led by founder Capt. Don Voss, to community waterway cleanups and major artificial-reef deployments that support habitat creation and restoration. Much of MCI’s media history is collected and preserved in an official Media archive on this site.
A history of media recognition
Early national coverage: Capt. Don Voss and marine debris
In 2012, Outside profiled Capt. Don Voss, describing how a lifetime of diving informed his environmental action. The story recognized the impact of MCI’s work—removing hundreds of thousands of pounds of debris—and noted Voss’s selection as an Oceana Ocean Hero. Later that same year, Oceana announced Voss as its 2012 Adult Ocean Hero, citing the organization’s growth and the collective debris-removal results driven by volunteers.
Community impact: Moore’s Creek cleanups
MCI’s long-running restoration and cleanup work at Moore’s Creek has also been featured publicly. In 2018, a City of Fort Pierce event notice highlighted the project as the fourth year of quarterly cleanups along the restored two-mile urban waterway and listed Marine Cleanup Initiative as a sponsor.
Artificial reefs: a growing source of major coverage
As MCI expanded into converting vessels into artificial reefs, the organization gained significant media visibility across outlets including WPTV, WQCS, Hometown News, Coastal Angler Magazine, Florida Sportsman, USA Today, Yahoo News, Safety4Sea, InTheBite, DockWalk, and others. MCI’s media archive includes reef project coverage for vessels such as Voici Bernadette, Tug Singleton, Tug Kathleen, Spirit of Palm Beach, and M/V Time.
One of the most widely covered examples was the 2023 M/V Time / A.A. Hendry Reef project. Local coverage from WPTV featured the yacht’s transformation into an artificial reef and included an interview with MCI President Arnold Stirzinger about the organization’s work with the St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program. WQCS reported on the deployment and MCI’s partnership with the county.
Additional reporting from Hometown News emphasized the collaboration behind the vessel’s placement and noted the A.A. Hendry Reef as the fifth artificial-reef deployment involving MCI since 2021—acknowledging partners including St. Lucie County, FWC, McCulley Marine Services, Causeway Cove Marina, and more.
National feature coverage: M/V Time and habitat creation
The M/V Time story also reached a national audience. Architectural Digest published a feature on transforming the former luxury yacht into an ecological asset, interviewing MCI’s Director of Operations, Christa Stone, about habitat potential for deep-water Oculina coral and plans for divers to help monitor the developing reef.
Why the coverage matters
Taken together, MCI’s media story shows an evolution in mission and impact: from founder-led marine-debris removal, to volunteer-driven community waterway restoration, to Moore’s Creek, and then to large-scale artificial reef projects that support environmental restoration and habitat creation.
Explore MCI’s Media archive to review additional coverage throughout the organization’s history, including reef and restoration stories tied to projects such as Voici Bernadette, Tug Singleton, Tug Kathleen, Spirit of Palm Beach, Last One, and M/V Time.