Ocean with David Attenborough is one of the world-famous broadcaster’s most important and emotive pieces of work. The feature-length film begins by showcasing the ocean’s beauty and its importance for all life on Earth, then uncovers the threats that this precious ecosystem is facing from modern industry. Finally, it delivers optimistic hope that, if protected, the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.
It includes stunning footage of life under the seas, blending spectacular sequences of coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, with shocking scenes that expose the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never-before-seen, from the destructive bottom trawling fishing techniques that destroy the ocean seabed to mass coral reef bleaching.
These 10 stunning images offer a glimpse into this must-see story…
Kelp forests can be found all around the world’s coastlines. These dense collections of large seaweeds are vital marine ecosystems that provide numerous benefits, including supporting marine biodiversity, capturing carbon, and protecting coastlines.
Bait balls offer schools a natural defence against predators. Fish swim in a tightly packed, spherical group, confusing predators and reducing the likelihood of an individual being singled out.
Albatrosses are known as the largest birds on Earth. With wingspans that can reach up to 3.5m, their presence and population levels around the world act as a biological indicator of the health of the marine environment.
Coral reefs are home to about 25% of all marine species. Located on coastlines all around the world, they are vital ecosystems that support a vast array of marine life, but are under threat due to warming ocean waters.
This is the inside of an industrial bottom-trawling net. In the film, Attenborough explains: “It scours the ocean floor with a chain or metal beam, forcing anything it disturbs into the net behind. It smashes its way across the seabed, destroying nearly everything in its path, often on the hunt for just a single species.”
Join us in calling for an immediate ban on bottom trawling in all Marine Protected Areas — starting here in the UK.
Huge sea forests around the Isles of Scilly have been destroyed by bottom trawling. The creation of Marine Protected Areas, like those that 10% for the Ocean has raised funds to support, can help to protect these vital environments and enable them to rapidly recover.
A clown anemonefish on a coral reef in Raja Ampat, Indonesia
Marine Protected Areas can help coral reefs rapidly recover and thrive. Providing safe havens for these vital habitats and the species that live on them ensures their long-term survival and promotes ecosystem resilience.
As smaller species thrive, larger species recover too. By limiting activities like fishing, drilling and tourism in Marine Protected Areas, they can become breeding grounds and nurseries for larger species, which then overspill into the wider oceans.
In the 1980s, whales were on the very edge of extinction worldwide. A global movement led to the introduction of a moratorium on commercial whaling and now there are more whales in the sea than any living human being has ever seen.
Speaking in the film, Attenborough says: “After a lifetime of filming the natural world, I now understand the most important place on Earth is not on land. We have drained the life from our ocean. I would find it hard not to lose hope, were it not for the most remarkable discovery. The ocean can bounce back to life. If left alone, it may not just recover but thrive beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen."
