Scholey.“And at present we have a slightly wrecked ocean which is not doing anything like the job it should be doing.” Fishing practices like bottom trawling, churn up the seabed and release previously captured CO2, before much of the catch is then discarded. When faced with that kind of large-scale degradation of the ocean, what can any one of us do to really make a difference? “The most important areas to protect are actually the coastlines near us,” says co-director Colin Butfield, the co-founder and chair of free global library Open Planet. “That’s where we get most of our fish. It’s the area that regenerates the fastest.And actually in most countries, you could have marine-protected areas right on the edge of shore, and it would have an incredible benefit to everybody that lives there.” He says that for starters, support marine protection where you live (check out the Marine Conservation Society on what you can actively do to help: mcsuk.org). Those positive impacts can be exponential too.“Protecting areas of ocean is very different from if you do the same on land,” says Nowlan.“In the sea those areas fill up with life really, really quickly, much quicker than on land, and in a spectacular way.And that life floods out. It overflows, it spills out to the surrounding areas and revives huge areas of ocean.” So do not let despair take hold.“All is not lost.We just need to replicate these bright spots,” says Enric Sala, executive producer, scientific advisor and National
Geographic explorer.“I hope the film will have this power to make people fall in love with the ocean, be upset and even angry because of what we’re doing to the ocean, but then feel motivated and hopeful and inspired to take action to bring it back.”
Ocean With David Attenborough to premiere on World Oceans Day – Sunday, June 8 at 8pm on National
Photo: David Attenborough and Colin
Photo: from Ocean with David Attenborough.
Photo: A clown anemonefish on a coral reef in Raja Ampat, In-donesia.
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