Call of the Blue inside book by Call of the Blue

Call of the Blue

Philip Hamilton

Call of the Blue

Call of the Blue Philip Hamilton

Text Tom Hooper & Jessica Rudd

London 2018

“We must plant the sea and herd its animals using the sea as farmers instead of hunters. That is what civilization is all about — farming replacing hunting.” Jacques Yves Cousteau

CEO

There is a reason why marine life conservation is considered so important, and it is because of how essential oceans are to the existence of every creature on this planet. Oceans are a huge source of oxygen for organisms everywhere and are very helpful in the processes of both storing and capturing carbon dioxide while reducing the impact of climate change. As if providing half of the oxygen that humans breathe is not enough, they go on to make available other essential and vital resources for existence such as nourishment, medicines, and support for the costal economies of the world. Oceans cover around 72% of our planet and without them, many organisms would have ceased to exist long ago. Each of these organisms plays an important part in the upkeep of Earth, and so it is essential to respect that and keep in mind that biodiversity matters. Because the oceans are the largest ecosystems on Earth, they are the Earth’s largest life support systems. The diversity and productivity of the world’s oceans is a vital interest for humankind. Our security, our economy, our very survival all require healthy oceans.Whether you live on the coast or far from it, whether you eat seafood or not, you and the future of all those you love depends on healthy oceans. The protection of the oceans is not a topic to take lightly. Scientists have been talking about climate change, pollution, and the affect that these two issues have on oceanic species for years. Without the efforts of conservation, the ocean’s current predicament would already be much worse. Today, Earth’s oceans are a dumping site for many chemicals, trash, and other forms of pollution. Anything from overfishing to abandoning waste in the oceans can result in health and economic impacts by killing off marine life and damaging ecosystems. Global warming is yet another problem for marine life to face, and humans may have helped this process along. Global warming eradicates coral reefs, causes species to go extinct, and, as a result, ice caps melt and ocean levels rise. Eventually, the non-renewable energy resources will be exhausted. By contrast, the living marine resources will continue to be there. If we protect them and manage them carefully, they could last for ever. Education on the topic of conservation can also keep the next generation from making the same mistakes that have been made in the past. If one only looks hard enough, it is easy to see that there are many solutions to the problems the oceans face. The conservation of marine life is gaining attention in the scientific world as well as with the media, and for good reason. Call of the Blue’s team has reached out to some of the most inspiring men and women from around the world who have spent their lives living and working in the oceans. The stories are of people who have pursued greater knowledge and adventure; or of those who are seeking to champion a cause to protect special places or declining species, people that have answered the Call of the Blue. These are all people who have been drawn to the sea in some way, and we hope that their messages can energise others.

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Call of the Blue

Pages: 300/320 Images: 250/300 Format: Portrait 385x285 Hard Cover Printed in Italy Philip Hamilton, London 2018 Published by Paul Holberton Publishing Photography and text copyright ÂŠ Philip Hamilton 2018 Text copyright ÂŠ Tom Hooper & Jessica Rudd 2018 Final Design and art direction Paul Holberton Publishing Maquette design Denise Hamilton Co-production: Clement Perrette

Content

From the Author - Philip Hamilton Prologue - Inger Andersen, Director General IUCN Foreword - Yann Arthus-Bertrand Introduction -Tom Hooper Chapters -Coastal Waters -Small Critters -Sharks -Cetaceans -Sea Turtles -Mantas & Rays -Future Ocean Conclusion - Author TBC Epilogue Acknowledgments

Call of the Blue

Philip Hamilton From the Author

Our relationship to the sea remains complex – equally loved, cherished and rooted deep in our memories and psyche; but also forgotten, feared and abused. I have had the privilege to visit some of the most amazing locations in the world for their vibrant marine life. This book is the culmination of five years’ work to capture the beauty, magnificence and diversity of our oceans. I have moved around the world all of my life – being an underwater photographer without borders has provided me with an insight into how our oceans and seas are managed and mismanaged. I have experienced huge imbalance in the way our sea is used and managed. As a photographer, I am drawn to places in our ocean which are the most well protected and maintained. I have also visited whole regions where the oceans have been exhausted. The Bay of Bengal is surrounded by some of the most densely populated coastlines and was once one of the most productive fisheries on the planet. Decades of overfishing and pollution now mean that the future of hundreds of millions of coastal communities is under threat and the consequences have the potential to reverberate across the planet. There is a chasm between the best and the worst that has driven me to seek the insight and knowledge of people around the world. As I spent time working with scientists, fishermen and conservationists I saw a common thread of people who have been drawn to the sea and spent their lives as protectors, harvesters, educators and researchers. Their interests may sometimes conflict and their world-views and aspirations may differ; but they all share a deep connection and knowledge. The voices in this book describe how they have seen fundamental shifts and declines over their own life time; and the challenge for fishermen who rely solely on the sea to continue making a living. But there are also stories of hope; small pockets of our ocean, where life is bouncing back as communities have organised themselves to protect their own futures. My pictures highlight the natural beauty of places that I have visited, but it is humans that have a profound influence on our marine environment, and hold its destiny in their hands. I want them to tell their own stories in this book. I recognise that I am lucky to have had the opportunity to visit these fantastic places, but my aim is to create a legacy beyond just a memory or an epitaph to what we once had. There is no doubt that there are a multitude of threats to marine life, but equally I have been amazed by the resilience of the marine environment and the optimism and commitment of those who are driven to ensure that it is protected for future generations. I want to be able to communicate what is possible when you combine the skills of our scientists, conservationists and fishermen and together with trust and understanding between governments, corporations and society. Each photo in the book has a strong association for me – a memory of the place and the feeling of being in the water. My experiences have been amazing – deeply spiritual and awe-inspiring encounters, but I often wish that I could share these with my friends and family. Call of the Blue

The more time I spend working on this book, the more I am able to accept the opportunities that I am given. I am no longer fixated on pursuing a particular encounter with an animal. Nature photography is random, unexpected and fraught with challenges of finding the right sea conditions, water clarity and light. As any professional photographer will tell you â&#x20AC;&#x201C; securing the shot is often the culmination of weeks of patience and persistence. Nature may, or may not provide the opportunity, and I am grateful for whatever I get. Experiencing nature in the sea has changed my life â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I have found wonder, serenity and elation. I have always been drawn to the sea, and have dived and snorkelled throughout my life. My connection to the sea has grown deeper over the years and I think I will always return. I am not alone in this, and I hope that this book will help to explain why.

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Call of the Blue

Coastal Waters

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Call of the Blue

Coastal Waters

Tom Hooper Introduction

The beauty of a reef comes from the complexity of its structure – a living landscape of intricate shapes created by generations of colonial coral polyps. Over tens of thousands of years these individual polyps build up structures around themselves, fusing the calcium carbonate skeleton together into enormous colonial structures hundreds of kilometres in length. Different species form themselves into distinct shapes – rounded boulders with maze-like ridges, enormous rows of overhanging plates or delicate branches. Reef-building corals inhabit a central band between the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Ocean and between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, where the water is clear, shallow and warm. These oceanic regions are comparatively barren and unproductive, so the reefs are oases of marine life providing food and shelter for a huge diversity of crabs, lobsters, worms, sponges, sea squirts and fish, which in turn provide food for other reef animals. Only rain-forests are more diverse in the diversity of species. Coral polyps are anemone-like animals that have formed a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae, a tiny plant cell that generates (and shares) energy from the sun. Reef-building corals also feed using stinging tentacles to catch zooplankton floating in the water column. However, the vast majority of their nutrition comes from the sun, which is why they are restricted to the shallow, clear waters of the tropics where sunlight is strongest. Coral polyps secrete a limestone skeleton fusing together in colonies, and over multiple generations they grow to form a reef structure. The fastest growing branching corals can extend by 20cm a year, whereas the more rounded ‘massive’ corals only accrete a couple of millimetres in a year. Some of these individual coral boulders have been cored and dated to over 5,000 years old. Corals also reproduce sexually, releasing eggs and sperm into the water in synchronised spawning events that are linked to the phases of the moon and changes in water temperature. A healthy reef is an intricate and complex seascape of valleys, caves, crevices and overhangs that have been created by corals and shaped by the animals and oceans around them. Watching life on a reef is endlessly rewarding with so much life bustling like a busy market, as hundreds of fish go about their daily business of finding food, defending territory, avoiding being eaten, seeking comfort in a crowd or looking for a mate. At first it can appear chaotic until you begin to recognise the characteristic behaviours of different species: damsel fish tending and defending napkin-sized territories of the reef; trumpet fish hiding in caves and overhangs; herds of surgeon fish busily grazing on tufts of algae; bright parrot fish scraping chunks of coral to get to the algae within and an array of bright butterfly fish specialised to feed on tiny reef invertebrates. Predatory

Call of the Blue

fish such as snappers and groupers loiter higher above the reef waiting for an opportunity to dart in and seize a fish momentarily too far from safety; jacks rely on their speed to dart into shoals to pick out prey; moray eels mouth threateningly from their holes in the reef, coming out at night to hunt. Fish are the obvious crowds in a reef scene, but look more closely and you will spot the more ‘cryptic’ species – tiny crabs, shrimps and snails that hide themselves in the intricate structures of the reef. With their ability to create energy from sunlight, corals have evolved to survive in parts of the ocean that are otherwise relatively barren. They do more than survive, producing enough energy to build habitats on a vast scale, over thousands of years creating huge reef structures. The millions of tiny plant cells (zooxanthellae) that live within the coral polyp, in turn share the energy that they generate from photosynthesis. Corals live on a knife-edge, inhabiting and thriving in the shallow ocean where they can be exposed by low tides and pounded by waves. There is competition in slow motion for sunlight and space; fast growing branching corals may be able to outgrow their slow growing rivals, but are more vulnerable to breakage from the impact of big waves; other coral colonies use long stinging tentacles to try to kill off their neighbours to secure their own living space. Over decades, centuries and millennia, conditions on a reef change allowing different species to thrive and overtake their neighbours. The modern story of corals and associated reefs is mostly not a happy one. The diversity and productivity of reefs are both their strength and their weakness. They are not only incredibly valuable biologically, they also provide a source of food for over 400 million people around the world. These coastal societies are directly dependent on the reefs, for millennia establishing their own equilibrium with other reef species. Over recent decades, human populations have grown, and new commercial links and markets have developed, enabling and encouraging fishermen to exploit resources to the point where it can no longer replenish itself. In Call of the Blue we have drawn together the experiences of six naturalists with contrasting stories of how reefs have formed, the development of our understanding of coral ecology, the dismantling of a delicate equilibrium; but within all of this rather grim reality are real stories of hope and restoration. Charlie Veron, often called ‘the godfather of coral’ has been studying corals on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and around the world for the last forty years, naming over a third of the species. He has borne witness to the steady decline of the places he loves best, and in his seventies struggles with the role he is forced to play as a defender of the Great Barrier Reef. Peter Sale, a Canadian scientist also has a history of researching the Great Barrier Reef that goes back nearly fifty years, sometimes finds himself with tears in his eyes when he talks about coral reefs, the emotion for his

subject runs deep, yet he still has faith that humans will find a way to solve such intractable and multi-headed of human challenges. Mark Spalding’s focus for much of his career has been to look at reefs at a global scale, and to try and determine what we can learn when we piece together knowledge of what is happening from around the world. David Obura set up his organisation in Kenya, a country that has seen its population almost quadruple in the last forty years, placing ever increasing burdens on coastal resources in a region that is under growing pressure. His own inspiration comes from seeing how the Pacific Islands of Kiribati have a huge pride in the quality of the ocean and a strong commitment to make sure that they are protected. Finally, two of the most uplifting conservation stories that I have heard within Call of the Blue is the work of Jean Wiener in Haiti and Alasdair Harris in Madagascar, two countries with high levels of poverty and reefs which have been heavily over-exploited. Their approach has been to work closely with local communities so that they can manage what they take and what they protect, slowly securing net benefits that see catches and coral reefs growing again. In two of the poorest countries on earth, a couple of organisations are proving that conservation can work for people, improving fish catches and demonstrating a remarkable recovery of marine life. In southwest Madagascar, Dr Alasdair Harris and his organisation Blue Ventures have spent the last 15 years working with Vezo communities, helping them rediscover how they can manage their own resources and restore their reefs and lagoon. “Working closely with the village of Andavadoaka in South West Madagascar, we gained the trust of the community and supported them through a transformation in the way their reefs were managed. A small area of reef was set aside as a temporary fishery closure, where fast growing species such as octopus could grow quickly in size and number. Following the closure period, fishermen started to see significant increases in their catches. Neighbouring communities wanted to replicate the approach and with 25 villages in the region, a Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) called ‘Velondriake’ was set up in 2006 covering 800 km2 of coastal habitats. Within this area, some zones may be permanently closed to fishing, whilst others may be opened seasonally; but ultimately communities witness the direct fisheries and economic benefits of their actions. This approach has given rise to a new movement of locally led marine conservation in Madagascar, areas of coast and ocean within which communities set aside diverse management interventions. Over the last decade, 117 have been created around Madagascar alone, and more around the Indian Ocean are being set up. We have helped a community discover for themselves what is possible, how some simple steps towards fisheries management and strong community cohesion can quickly provide greater fish catches as well as benefits for conservation.”

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Haiti faces huge social and environmental challenges. Faced with extreme poverty, people have resorted to overfishing, and mangrove forests are being cut down to make charcoal. Marine biologist Dr Jean Wiener returned to his home country refusing to believe that restoring the reefs was a lost cause; he has spent the last decade helping fishermen to see the potential of protected areas and strengthening community associations so that they can look after their own resources and futures. “I recognised that the best thing we could do for Haiti’s reefs is to try and reduce the impact from fishing, which had left them almost completely lifeless. We focused our attention on the Northeast and the Southwest, both densely populated areas of the country with many challenges of poverty and limited options for livelihoods. Haiti’s first two Marine Protected Areas were announced in 2013, including some areas that will be off-limits to fishing. The recovery of coastal ecosystems will take many years, so we are setting up activities such as beekeeping, algae farming and oyster production which can provide sustainable incomes in place of fishing. My promise to the communities is that I will never ask them to give up something without trying to provide something greater in return. As the reefs start to recover and the fish return, it will be critical that we continue to enforce and look after these areas with the help of local communities. Ultimately it is down to the people in these communities to want to nurture this new opportunity.” Around the world, the future of coral reefs hangs in the balance. At a local level, the efforts of Alasdair Harris and Jean Wiener are proof that with empowered and organised communities it is possible to restore biodiversity and retain economic benefits. Scaled up, there is potential to regenerate reefs across the tropics, providing the means for people to manage their own futures, rather than just looking for the next meal.

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Family business Take the time to observe a raft of Sea Lions and you will soon be an actor more in the scene. If you are patient enough the large alpha male can even accept you into the harem. I soon felt like having another parent, and siblings playing with me, showing me their toys, and even saw two playing football with an inflated puffer.

Call of the Blue

Back to basics Chinchorro banks, 36 nautical miles off the south coast of Quintana Roo is considered one of the most pristine atoll reefs in the Caribbean and the largest in the Western world. I spent few days on a fishermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stilt house; no running water, no toilets, but great company and amazing protected nature. The biosphere reserve holds a large number American Crocodiles and getting in the water with them is not really a walk in the park, they do require all our sense and awareness, no mistakes allowed.

Call of the Blue

William Trubridge Ambassador

William Trubridge is a world-recording holding freediver. He runs a freediving school and annual competition at Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas and is at the forefront of a campaign for protection for the Hector’s and Maui dolphin in New Zealand. “When I was 18 months old my parents sold our house in the UK, bought a boat and sailed out across the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans to New Zealand. The boat was my home for three years and the ocean was my playground and classroom. My passion and love for the oceans goes all the way back to these experiences I had as a young boy – swimming amongst reefs that were alive with life and colour. By the time I was 8 years old I was diving down to 15 metres and challenging my brother to see who could fetch the deepest stones from the sea bed. I have always liked to challenge and test myself; and when I discovered that there was a competitive element to free diving I left New Zealand for the Caribbean and became hooked on the sport since then. Freediving is a sport where you hold your breath and go as deep as possible. I hold records in two disciplines: 124 metres in the ‘free immersion’ category where you pull yourself along a weighted rope and 102 metres for the ‘constant weight – no fins’ category where you swim downwards with no external assistance. I have trained for years to be able to reach these depths, preparing my body for the physiological challenge and my mind for the mental challenge. I train and compete at Dean’s Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas. The dark-blue, circular pool just off the beach, plunges downwards and opens out like an hourglass to a depth of 202 metres – making it the world’s deepest sinkhole. Descending from the clear, sunlit surface I swim downwards. After 30 metres I become negatively buoyant and can begin to glide through a silent water column. Light begins to fade after about 40 metres and I continue to drop down into the darkness for two minutes. My heartbeat has slowed, blood is flowing into my core and I can feel the pressure growing around my body. Once I reach my target depth, I begin my return to the surface, drawing out the long strokes of my arms and legs as I fight the need to breathe for a further two minutes. Each time I do a dive, I put myself through an intense psychological experience, but to succeed I must remain calm and focussed; shutting out the voices of doubt and fear. One of the legends of freediving, Umberto Pelizzari said that ‘the scuba diver dives to look around, the freediver dives to look inside’. As I dive, I am having both a conversation with myself and with the ocean that is enveloping me to retain the serenity that I need to succeed. When I was preparing to be the first person to descend to 100m – a distance known as a hectometre, I stumbled across the Hector’s dolphin and learned about the threats they face from fishing nets and trawlers. This species are only found in New Zealand’s waters and are among the world’s smallest marine dolphins. Over the last 40 years their population has fallen to only 7,000 remaining individuals. A closely related subspecies, the Maui dolphin is only found off the west coast of the North Island and 50 individuals are known to remain. The situation

Call of the Blue

is critical and the only solution is an immediate and complete ban on commercial and recreational fishing in the coastal areas where they live. There is an outcry from people across the world for these dolphins to be protected; but equally the fishing industry protest that they must continue earning a living. This is not about a vendetta against fishermen; but against a technique that is indiscriminate and threatening the survival of an iconic species. If I was in their shoes, and if it was a decision between going bankrupt and causing the extinction of a species, I am confident that I would go and find something else to do. Using traps and lines is the only way to avoid the accidental capture of dolphins, but also a way for us to reduce the impact on fish stocks – in other words a way to ensure a sustainable future for our fishing industry. I think that New Zealand’s global reputation as an untouched paradise is unwarranted. It has the same landmass as Japan, but a population that is 5% of the size, so of course there is less human impact and large areas of wilderness. But there are also rivers which are unswimmable due to the dangerous levels of pollution and there have been many examples of unsustainable and destructive fishing. The protection of these dolphins, our fish and our environment has to come from government with a swipe of the pen, but the measures that they have put into place so far are superficial and will do little to stop these declines. The other issue that I am involved with is plastic pollution. As I travel around the world, I have seen this issue get worse and worse. Many countries in the Caribbean have no waste management and currents carry the waste around, gathering it in gyres and scattering it over pristine beaches. The use of a durable material for a disposable product may be good for corporations but comes at huge cost to society and the planet. We can try and solve the short-term impact through beach clean ups, but the long-term solution lies in education and re-engineering of the way that plastics are produced and used. This is a problem that can be so easily solved, but it will require a global effort before plastic waste dominates our beaches and seascapes. There is undoubtedly a romantic side to my relationship to the sea. It has been a constant and profound presence in my life. When I am leave the coast, I feel a longing to return. The sea has given me so much, it only feels natural now to give something back. There is a crisis in our ocean and we are not doing enough to avert it.”

Sometimes, in some remote places on Earth, you can still see pristine seas where amazing coral reefs come accompanied with a thriving marine life.

Call of the Blue

The Mike Tyson of the Ocean Peacock Mantis Shrimp is a spectacular animal, holding many major world records. Their powerful claws shoot at the speed of a caliber. 22 bullet and the power can break a glass dome, and inflict major pain. Do not challenge them; they are famous bottom predators, fast and confident.

Call of the Blue

Alasdair Harris Scientist

‘Fishing less now will give you a more prosperous future’ is a compelling message in theory, but challenging to implement in practice. Over 400 million people globally are dependent on coral reefs for their livelihoods – a number that grows every year. Trying to balance the needs of people withmeasures to protect and sustain marine resources has proven a huge challenge for conservation.Too often governments have been responding to international targets by drawing lines on maps which have little support or compliance; and ultimately no benefits for conservation. This has created a dangerous illusion that our oceans are protected. Over the last 14 years, Alasdair Harris and his team at Blue Ventures have been showing local communities (and global conservation organisations) how to extract themselves from of an unnecessary paradox: fishermen workingharder and longer to catch fewer fish. Working closely with the village of Andavadoaka in South West Madagascar, the team have gained the trust of the community and supported them through a transformation in the way their reefs are managed. They have helped a community discover what is possible – how some simple steps towards fisheries management and strong community cohesion can quickly provide greater fish catches as well as benefits for conservation. Small areas of reef are set aside as temporary fisheries closures, where fast growing species such as octopus can grow quickly in size and number. Octopus are one of the main targets for local fishers –men and women -- and are a species that grow and reproduce extremely quickly. Following the closure period, fishermen started to see significant increases in their catches. Some areas may be permanently closed to fishing, whilst others may be opened seasonally; but ultimately communities witness the direct fisheries and economic benefits of their actions, and in doing so local support builds for broader – and more ambitious – marine conservation efforts. This approach has given rise to a new movement of locally led marine conservation in Madagascar: the establishment, by communities, of locally managed marine areas (LMMAs) – vast areas of coast and ocean within which communities set aside diverse management interventions. These include fisheries closure areas, restrictions to destructive fishing practices, and even permanent marine reserves. Market forces are proving a strong incentive for expanding local engagement in conservation, and news of these ‘Locally Managed Marine Areas’ is catching on as these experiences are shared amongst coastal communities. Over the last decade, 117 have been created around Madagascar alone, and more around the Indian Ocean and beyond. What has made Blue Ventures successful where others have failed? Alasdair believes it is a focus on working closely alongside communities and having a team with an entrepreneurial culture that is ready to try new ideas and take risks. The importance of understanding people and market forces applies equally in the world of conservation as it does in business. This success is now growing. Alasdair has helped to connect communities and organisations in many different parts of the world and provide opportunities for fishermen to share and learn from each other. Today Blue Ventures is supporting over 20 organisations and initiatives across nine developing states in the Indian Ocean.

Call of the Blue

In contrast, large global organisations look clumsy and unwieldy. Large amounts of money are being spent by organisations that are too removed from the communities that receive little Government support. Time is running out to protect marine biodiversity and Alasdair is singular in his mission that conservation needs to do better, “our conservation sector has to do more than simply document the collapse of our ecosystems.” Solving the combined challenge of overfishing and climate change is an urgent issue for the world, and Blue Ventures is proving that small, flexible, ‘guerrilla’ organisations working closely with communities can deliver lasting impact at scale. This innovative, risk-taking culture within Blue Ventures has branched out into many different conservation tools. One of the most successful is the organisation’s Population-Health-Environment approach that provides family planning and basic healthcare services to help solve wider challenges of resource scarcity, food security and environmental degradation. Communities supported by Blue Ventures recognised the challenge of poor community healthcare and leaders requested support to empower women with health services, including the choice to space their children. If conservation is to be successful then it needs to think long-term. Turning around decades of declines in reef health is a rare success story, but one that needs to be shared and emulated. Blue Ventures is building new partnerships around the world with this goal in mind. Alasdair’s challenge will be to keep his organisation small and dynamic, but his impact big.

Call of the Blue

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room for two Sometimes photographing sharks can be a tricky and hectic experience, but in some cases it can be a relaxing, colourful and most enjoyable moment. Whitetip sharks have the ability to breathe while resting and since they hunt at night they tend to sleep during the day. In this case, a large group of sharks were competing for a hole to rest at 20 meters deep on a very large drop off wall. Pacific Ocean.

Call of the Blue

Coral reefs in pristine condition are unfortunately getting harder to find. After El Nino 20116/2017, the longest and strongest ever recorded, brought destruction to most reefs around the Planet. Only few spots remind intact on this 2018 international year of the Coral Reefs.

Call of the Blue

Regina Domingo Ambassador

Regina Domingo was inspired to dedicate her life to marine conservation by an island called Cocos and has since set up Nakawe, an organisation that is in the front line of conservation efforts to protect the future of Sharks in Central America. “Since I first saw a documentary on the remote Pacific Island of Cocos I have been infatuated. Cocos is 550 km to the east of Costa Rica and was designated as a World Heritage site in 1987. Jacques Cousteau called it one of the most beautiful islands in the world. I was captivated by his films, but it was the images of huge shoals of hammerhead sharks that enthralled me – I needed to get to this island, and I needed to do something to help protect this place. I had grown up by the sea near Barcelona and became a diver and volunteer at a local rescue centre for turtles and dolphins. My father was a sled dog musher and I became one of the first girls to race in long distance competitions in Alaska, Norway and Finland. I secured my first trip to Cocos to work as a volunteer ranger - it was as beautiful as I had imagined, a truly magical place. The marine life was incredible, the quantities of tuna, sharks, jacks and mantas was like a nature party. I fell in love with an island, and I felt more complete than ever before in my life. As I spent longer on Cocos I realised that it is under huge pressure from fishing fleets that come for its sharks, tuna and other fish. We were pulling out longlines every day, filling whole warehouses full of illegal fishing gear. These fishermen wait just outside of the park boundary and slip inside to set their nets, knowing that their chances of being caught are slim. As I spent time travelling and working as a dive guide and skipper in Panama, Mexico and Tonga I was seeing similar scenes – these amazing remote places were suffering from illegal fishing and scarred by plastic pollution. There are thousands of organisations dedicated to marine conservation, yet we are still failing. It is not enough and I wanted to do something more. I set up my organisation, The Nakawe Project in 2014. Nakawe is the Huichol Goddess of the Earth and mother of all plant and animal life in the Wixarika indigenous culture. I had no experience in running a charity, and people thought I was crazy, but we now have a small team focused on campaigns to solve the illegal fishing of sharks in Central America. From the moment I open my eyes in the morning, to the moment I go to sleep I am constantly thinking how I can make my work more effective, reach more people and take more action. I have met so many amazing people that give all that they can to help. Our campaigns have shown Costa Ricans how community pride and national pride is inseparable from the sharks that live in the seas. Every time I go to the market I see sharks for sale – protected species such as hammerheads, silky and thresher. Our research showed that over 3,000 tonnes of sharks are being consumed locally every year. Many people don’t even know they were eating sharks, or realise that they were endangered species. I also wanted to target the fishing communities and find out where the boats were coming from, where the sharks were

Call of the Blue

being caught and where they were being exported to. Our film, ‘Game over Fishing’ has taken over two years to make and is designed to open the eyes of people in Costa Rica to the extent of illegal fishing which is destroying their heritage. Too many people are thinking about how they can be richer, more famous or more beautiful. I would like to see a global movement of people that are fighting for nature and the protection of the places that inspire them. I want to move the right people and inspire others in a way that Cocos touched me.”

Look carefully inside, you might get a surprise I can hardly resist to check every Fire Urchin I see around while diving the IndoPacific. It is the most beautiful creature and looks harmless, however it is one of the most venomous animals and known to have killed humans, unfortunately there is not antivenin. It is always better to approach them with care when you want to take a macro shot of a pair Coleman shrimps that tend to live in perfect harmony within their spines.

Call of the Blue

Do not touch the Oceanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nurseries In last couple of years I have been trying to document mangroves around the world. Its health and survival is crucial to the marine ecosystems since it acts as the major nursery. It is normally a peaceful soundfree freediving work, where most species are shy first and then curious when they see you are not a threat. Unfortunately, mangroves are disappearing at fast speed, due to pollution and human intervention.

Call of the Blue

Jean Wiener Scientist

Protecting livelihoods, resources and biodiversity are all part of the same objective for Jean Wiener, where for the last 25 years he has been leading the only organisation working to protect coastal and marine resources in Haiti. “There is nowhere in the world that you will meet a hungry conservationist. I am a trained marine biologist, but most of my life has been focussed on helping people to meet their basic needs so that we can then take care of reefs, mangroves, and fisheries. Haiti faces huge social and environmental challenges. Driven to extreme poverty, many Haitians have resorted to overfishing, and our mangrove forest are being cut down to make charcoal. People know that it is not sustainable, but they have no choice when it comes to finding food to eat. I never forget that I am dealing with people who need to be able to catch and grow food to eat each day. My promise to the communities is that I will never ask them to give up something without trying to provide something greater in return. The recovery of coastal ecosystems will take many years so we need to set up activities such as beekeeping, algae farming or oyster production which can provide sustainable incomes in place of fishing. For many people, Haiti’s reefs had been written off as a lost cause; but I believed that with enough support we could restore them. As a young boy I used to go to a beach with my family on the weekend. You would mostly find me face down in the water watching fish and coral with my mask and snorkel. Swimming around these beautiful, colourful reefs felt like swimming in an aquarium. My parents always wanted me to become a doctor, but after completing my first biology classes I switched to marine biology, returned to Haiti, and set up my new organisation in 1992. I started by organising beach cleanups with local school children with support from local hotels and businesses. Haiti has no waste collection, so rubbish is mostly just dumped into ravines and from there washed into the oceans. In 2000 we organised surveys to identify the most promising areas around the island that should be protected. I recognised that the best thing we could do for Haiti’s reefs is to try and reduce the impact from fishing, which had left them almost completely lifeless. For the last decade our role has shifted towards helping fishermen see the potential of protected areas by providing education, strengthening community associations and talking about how we might protect our resources and futures. We focused our attention on the Northeast and the Southwest, both densely populated areas of the country with many challenges of poverty and limited options for livelihoods. We organised trips for some fishermen to travel to Jamaica to see how their marine reserves operated. This trip opened their eyes to what was possible – they still talk about the size of fish that they saw! Older fishermen are also some of our greatest allies; they talk about a time when they could catch enough fish in half a day to last them for two weeks; now it is the opposite. These stories have been tremendously important in helping us build support and willingness to try something new to restore our reefs, and in turn the reef fisheries.

Call of the Blue

In 2013 the Government announced Haiti’s first MPAs. It will take time for the fish to return and many more years for the reefs to fully recover and for the large snappers and groupers to re-establish. We are just putting the finishing touches to our plans which will include preservation zones that will be off limits to fishing. The creation of our first two MPAs has been a huge step for Haiti. As the reefs start to recover and the fish return, it will be critical that we continue to enforce and look after these areas with the help of local communities. Ultimately it is down to the people in these communities to want to nurture this new opportunity. I can’t be more interested in helping them than they are in helping themselves. I am proud of what has been achieved in the last 25 years; and I like to believe that we will be able to restore a few perfect places that my kids and grandkids can enjoy, like I did as a boy. This is my dream. Maybe it is naïve. You could say I was the fool that didn’t realise it was impossible, so he did it.”

Faulkner's Coral While I dive in tropical waters it is impossible for me to resist to photograph the most wonderful soft corals and invertebrates. Living beneath caves overhangs, this coral grows in small compacted clumps. The large polips are generally only exented at night.

Call of the Blue

â&#x20AC;Śand full colorful gardens too Rinca Island is part of the Komodo National Park and is located in the center of the Indonesian archipelago, between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. The coral gardens here are the most vivid, colorful and enchanting I have ever come across. Scientists have confirmed that on this site there is the highest concentration of soft corals in the world, and I believe them!

Call of the Blue

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why is it that scuba divers and surfers are some of the strongest advocates of ocean conservation? Because they've spent time in and around the ocean, and they've personally seen the beauty, the fragility, and even the degradation of our planet's blue heart.â&#x20AC;? Sylvia Earle

Call of the Blue

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Harmony Photographers are naturally drawn to sharks and their potential for dynamic, exciting shots. This can create a false perception of an aggressive behaviour which is more usually calm and docile. These silky sharks spent a few minutes in the blue with me, checking me out at the end of the day’s diving off the coast of Cuba.

The unexpected visit Sometimes we are so absorbed on what is happening beneath us, that we can be startled by what is around us. This pod of Atlantic Spotted dolphins in the Mexico, appeared out of the blue to spend 15 minutes having a play, circling around me in tightly choreographed sequence and then vanished once more.

The gentle giants These gentle giants, manta rays with a 6 meter wing span swam in circles around me – maybe enjoying the sensation of bubbles or seeking an unknown interaction as they follow trails of plankton that are invisible to me. It is such a humble experience to be surrounded by them while they dance for you.

Not a mermaid, not a cow West indies manatees are the most beautiful animals, despite their size they are gracious and move beautifully. Only this year they passed from endangered species to vulnerable, the only other two Sirenian species haven't had that luck, Dugongs are disapearing fast due to environmental changes and poluttion, and the Steller’s sea cow is now extinct. This the slow-moving and easily captured Steller's sea cow was hunted into extinction by Europeans for its meat and fat.

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A fleeting glance Sailfish have fascinated me for years, not only for their speed, shape and vibrant colours but also for their extraordinary hunting abilities. They are elusive inhabitants of the open oceans, working in groups to target shoals of small fish, drive them towards the surface and stun them with a slash of their long bills. A long trip across the oceans may only give you only a split-second opportunity for a shot.

Marble beauty Most time we get to see rays, they are lying by the sea floor, or if lucky mating or moving around. Marble rays are large and not spooked easily but when this one saw me by the reef clearly was surprised. In photography sometimes you are required to do what your dive instructor has told you repeatedly that it is a no go, holding your breath is not recommended but sometimes it is the only way to get the shot we want while on scuba equipment.

If we had to pick one specie… to defend It would have to be sharks. The most hunted ocean specie, for meat and fins (for Chinese socialclimbers and nouveaux riche’ s tasteless and non-nutritional soups) to the extent of 100 million killed a year. People, need to understand that like lions or tigers, rhinos, crocs or buffalo, not because they could be potentially dangerous we need to kill them all. The health of our oceans depend on a healthy and large shark population.

Spectacular sponge garden Badly managed tourism could be a detriment to the most pristine seas in the world. Recently I visited Dominica to document the local population of sperm whales, but I also managed to scuba dive. I wasn’t expecting such pristine seas, the answer for that exuberance came from a local experience diver: “we only get a tiny fractions of the tourism and divers of the other caribbean islands”.

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Call of the Blue