America's Underwater Treasures

The longest-established scuba diving magazine in North America

March 2007

$5.95 VIRTUAL REALITY

GRAND CAYMAN

ERNEST BROOKS II

DIVING THE MED

www.divermag.com

PM40063683

R9370

AQUANAUTS TO ASTRONAUTS?

DIVER feb 07.indd 1

1/30/07 8:01:49 PM

FUTURE OCEANS

AMERICA’S UNDERWATER TREASURES

BY JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAU

Suspended in liquid blue, Fabien Cousteau free-dives near an adult humpback. “The core of your body vibrates with the songs of other humpback whales in the distance…from the tips of your fins all the way up through your body,” he said. “It’s awe-inspiring.” This humpback whale was photographed under the authority of NMFS Permit No. 642-1536-01 issued under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Photo: Carrie Vonderhaar, Ocean Futures Society.

It’s hard to know whether I’ve been blessed or cursed with this insatiable drive for adventure that I’ve inherited from my father, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. As a young boy onboard Calypso, I was exposed to wonders that the world was seeing for the first time in little known parts of the world, and this need to know and desire to share its deeper meaning have never left me and have, in fact, become stronger the more I explore.

This drive is not unique to me though. In fact, it’s something that compels many divers and I think it’s partly because every dive is different, so one great dive only inspires the next.

But it was my nagging curiosity that drove me to explore the American National Marine Sanctuary system, a series of widely divergent marine ecosystems under the management of the U. S. government. At first, it seemed a fairly routine form of exploration. We set out, not for foreign or undiscovered shores, but for 13 locations just offshore of one of the most populated countries in the world, where, we thought, almost everything had been explored and inventoried. We were surprised that the American public knew little about their own sanctuary system and thought we could render a service in documenting these marine ecosystems on film.

10

Surprisingly, we had the adventure of our lives and discovered that these protected U.S. waters are, in fact, a microcosm of the world ocean, both in the variety of their ecosystems and marine life and in the problems they face.

Our adventure began in the sweltering heat off the coast of South Carolina at the U.S.S. Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, the first sanctuary to be designated, and done so to protect a cultural artifact, the wreck of the Civil War ship, the Monitor, that lay at 225 feet (68.5m). It would be our deepest and most technologically challenging dive, using rebreathers, mixed gases, and long decompression ascents.

In the strong currents and poor visibility, there was no guarantee that the divers could find the wreck, only a vague outline in dark water. But they did find it and their bottom time quickly dwindled as they swam its outline and touched the history of its ironclad sides, respectful of the fact that it is still a gravesite and a landmark of U.S. maritime history.

For over nine months, we traveled the continental United States and as far offshore as American Samoa to record these underwater treasures. At Cordell Bank, offshore from San

DIVER Magazine

DIVER feb 07.indd 10

1/30/07 8:02:19 PM

Small populations of manta rays congregate within the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary along the coasts or Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. Fabien and Céline Cousteau find themselves in the dark with one of these majestic animals feeding on swarms of plankton. Photo: Carrie Vonderhaar, Ocean Futures Society.

ABOVE/BELOW: Holly Lohuis reveals the Humboldt squid’s impressive mouth with razor-sharp beak ringed by barbed suckers that cling to prey. This image and the silhouette are from America’s Underwater Treasures, a new book published by Ocean Futures Society. Photo: Carrie Vonderhaar, Ocean Futures Society.

Francisco, we found an undersea ridge rising to within 100 feet (30m) of the surface and bathed in a planktonic brew that fuels a multitude of sea life, including a blanket of Corynactis anemones that fluoresce pink at 100 feet (30m). We were the first divers on the site in ten years because it is such a hazardous dive in turbulent waters. We also learned that another National Marine Sanctuary, the Farallone Islands NMS, houses part of what in the 1970s became the largest underwater nuclear dumpsite in the U.S. At Stellwagen Bank off the New England coast, we dove waters that were once the richest in the nation in cod and groundfish but are now void of large fish, leaving the American lobster to flourish, the kingpin in an ecosystem that is precariously vulnerable.

We dove the site of another cautionary tale of overfishing at Monterey Bay, California,

where the iconic sea otter lives at the edge of the shore and must contend with the toxic brew that flows from the land. At the Flower Garden Bank, we witnessed an explosion of life in the annual coral reef spawning and felt reassured by its magnitude.

Once again, I was reminded that the natural world everywhere holds unimaginable beauty, riches and secrets. Unable to tell the full story of what we learned and experienced in two hours of film, we created America’s Underwater Treasures. This book is the story of what we discovered, the adventures we encountered, and the experience of creating a unique team of explorers, united by the same passionate goal to inspire others to care about and protect what we love best. The expedition team, a blend of seasoned veterans who worked along side my father and me on past expeditions, and a new generation with new knowledge to share about marine life and technology, included my son Fabien and daughter Céline. Together we rejoiced in our mission and rediscovered once again—that we are dependent on the health of the ocean at the most fundamental level and that the adventure the sea offers us begins at the shoreline and sweeps across the face of the entire planet. And, that when you protect the ocean, you protect yourself.

We went to explore one nation’s backyard and discovered a world that belongs to us all.

For more information on the film, America’s Underwater Treasures, visit www.pbs.org/oceanadventures For information on purchasing the companion book, visit www.oceanfutures.org

divermag.com

DIVER feb 07.indd 11

11

1/30/07 8:02:21 PM