70% of our planet's surface is covered by water, and yet
we call our planet Earth. Seems strange eh?
For centuries we have believed that our oceans were an
endless resource and we have harvested their bounty to
their maximum potential. However over the last decade in
particular we have begun to realize that this is not the
case and that our oceans are just as fragile and prone to
destruction as any other habitat.
Commercial fish stocks the world over are on the brink of
collapse and at current rates will disappear by 2050 at
the latest. Shark populations have been decimated as we
continue to kill up to 100 million sharks a year. As a
result many species are in imminent danger of extinction.
Today we have only 5% remaining of our coral reefs that
once carpeted most of our tropical seas. By 2050 it is
believed that we will loose a further 95% of what little
remains. We are in danger of turning our most incredible
of natural wonders into a barren desert completely devoid
of life.
With all these words of doom it perhaps seems strange
then that this film attempts to celebrate our water
planet by sharing some of the wonders that I have seen
during the past 12 months or so. I truly hope that I can
convey at least a small part of the awe that I often feel
while under the surface of our water planet. I have very
little hope that it will be possible to save our oceans
in their current state, but we must try with all our
resolve, because if we loose this amazing resource, we
may find that our species may also be on a very short
path to extinction.