The historic island of Krapanj, Croatia, will soon host an unprecedented underwater cleanup and Guinness World Record attempt led by environmental activist Kristijan Curavić. His mission? To advocate for plastic-free tourism beaches and marine areas worldwide.
An Unconventional Approach to Plastic Pollution
Curavić, founder of the White Flag initiative and member of Ocean Alliance Conservation (OACM), plans to spend up to 12 hours extracting plastic and marine debris from the seabed around Krapanj Island. This event will not only set a new record but also mark the first time an environmental address is delivered live from beneath the sea to world leaders.
Curavić’s approach goes beyond conventional beach-cleaning campaigns. His concept, embodied by OACM’s Certified SAFE Marine Area program, aims to address both the visible coastline and the underwater environment. This holistic method seeks to make marine cleanup measurable, verifiable, and communicable, tying environmental conservation to sustainable tourism and investment.
The significance of this mission extends beyond the immediate cleanup. Curavić will deliver a world-first underwater environmental address, broadcast live from the seabed through specialized acoustic communications telemetry. Speaking directly from inside his heavy traditional copper diving helmet, Curavić will express gratitude to former and current heads of state credited with early support for OACM’s Sustainable Ocean Solution Conservancy Program (SOS CP). Among those recognized are H.E. Borut Pahor, former President of Slovenia, H.E. Gjorge Ivanov, former President of North Macedonia, H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, former President of Malta, H.E. Danny Faure, former President of Seychelles, H.E. Karmenu Vella, former EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs & Fisheries, H.M. King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, former Prime Minister of Canada. From the seabed of Krapanj, Curavić also intends to issue a direct global appeal to incumbent heads of state, presidents, prime ministers and international policymakers to join the initiative, establish sovereign plastic-free marine zones and commit to measurable and verifiable ocean restoration for future generations.
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Krapanj: A Symbol of Maritime Heritage and Conservation
Krapanj Island, known for its centuries-old sponge-diving tradition, serves as the perfect backdrop for this record attempt. For generations, Krapanj islanders made their living beneath the Adriatic, developing a diving culture that became part of Croatia’s maritime heritage. The operation will combine traditional copper hard-hat diving equipment weighing approximately 80–90 kilograms with modern technology to enable continuous video and telemetry broadcasts.
For Curavić, the message is clear: a tourism beach cannot genuinely be called clean if plastic remains beneath the surface. His campaign, therefore, is shifting focus towards restoring underwater environments and challenging destinations and governments to take responsibility for their seas.
From diving beneath the North Pole to fighting plastic pollution in his native Adriatic, Curavić’s environmental activism is ambitious, physical, and highly visible. In 2005, he gained international attention after completing a freedive beneath the Arctic ice at the North Pole, descending more than 50 meters in extreme conditions without scuba equipment. More than two decades later, he is attempting to channel the same appetite for physical challenge into an environmental initiative with potentially broader consequences for the global tourism industry. If successful, the White Flag could symbolize not just a beautiful beach, but a marine environment verifiably free of plastic.