Celebrating ocean wins

‘The ocean gives me purpose in life. I spend hundreds of days per year on shoots around the world striving to unlock her secrets. Sometimes she gives us nothing and we come back empty-handed, but every now and again our patience and tenacity are rewarded and we’re given a glimpse into the spectacles and mysteries she still holds secret, and that’s what keeps me going.

In the 25 years I’ve been diving I have seen places be hit hard by fishing or pollution or plastics, almost to the point where recovery seems impossible, but I have also been lucky enough to go to places that have been left alone for long enough and have rebounded beyond our wildest dreams. The ocean can and will recover, but the time to act is now.’

Often when I talk about the ocean, I talk about why it’s important: the home it provides for animals and the way it keeps our planet functioning.

The truth is that sometimes when you are underwater, you are so overwhelmed by the intrinsic beauty of that space that you forget about all the heady logic of marine conservation. A couple of months ago I had the incredible privilege of freediving in the seagrass beds of St Joseph Atoll. This near-pristine patch of habitat is abundant with sharks and turtles and rays and all sorts of predatory fish. It’s completely overwhelming and hard to look at individual animals when what you are really seeing is this complex, perfectly put-together miracle of ecology. It was also late afternoon and between holding my breath and watching the light dancing through the surface, I was utterly entranced. At times like this, you dissolve into the water around you and it’s almost like the ocean is coming to life inside of you: a kind of pre-embryonic state where you can’t tell where you end and the seawater begins.

There are many reasons to love the ocean, but for me, it’s deeply personal moments like this when that love beats strongest.

The ocean is our lifeline. In her arms, we are all equal, and we are free. While the ocean is a universal democratiser, access to her remains a privilege. If we are to save our seas, we must first inspire others to care. That starts with access to experiencing the water for those who do not have that privilege.

My priorities are education and representation. We can’t care about what we don’t know and where we don’t feel like we belong. There is so much xenophobia—so much sinophobia—in conservation, exacerbated by the recent pandemic. It’s easy to vilify poor fishers trying to feed their families, who are forced to catch sharks or countries still struggling to escape the shadows of colonialism without appropriate resources, who can’t afford to put sustainability and conservation at the top of their priorities. But disenfranchised groups are the most at risk from climate change, so it begins with representation—reclaiming marine spaces from the past for the future. The ocean is a universal democratiser. In her arms, we are all equal, and we are free.

The ocean is our racetrack, and that demands respect.
As sailors, we see the ocean in every form. We learn to appreciate champagne conditions and to respect the power it wields when the winds turn wild.

‘No dive is ever the same and yet every time I’m in the water, I am reminded of how amazing the ocean is and why we need to do everything we can to protect it.’

“The ocean to me is home and family. Whether it’s running along the coast, paddling out to sea or floating down below the waves, the sea is my backyard and has given me everything I have. From my family in Kommetjie to my work as an ocean storyteller and documentarian. It quiets my soul, and has always brought me closer to its Creator.”

Our Ocean is our Heritage.

Our Heritage needs protection, but how can we help?
We can help by creating safe ocean spaces, for our youth, by helping to provide them with the ability to access the Ocean as needed, by opening the doors for them to experience our Ocean safely, and by being willing and open to share whatever we learn. This is how we can help to develop future Defenders Of The Blue.

With all her life, our Ocean now more than ever needs all the help she can get. Being under extreme pressure from human and natural effects, we need to do whatever we can to help. No action is too little. Every little thing we do makes a real difference

I believe that only once we learn about our Ocean will we fall in love with her, and only once we love our Ocean will we want to protect her. This is why I have started hosting open day snorkelling events, totally Free for all, inviting anyone who has never snorkelled before just to come and try it, experience it, and spark interest and love for the Ocean as so many of us have.

‘Life cannot exist without water. This is why the ocean is important.’