My World

I see things that most people do not: A different world underwater.

This is my world.

But my world is being destroyed. The ocean is dying. I have seen first hand the after effects of what we have done, how we are ruining it. Water is what differentiates our planet from any other and facilitates life. No ocean, no life. We call this world planet earth, but seven tenths of the world’s surface is covered by water and over 80% of life on earth lives in the ocean. Life on earth evolved from the sea. We all come from the sea, but we are not all of the sea.

There are those who have never seen these creatures in the wild. They see them in their bank accounts. They profit from the destruction of our oceans. 

They take exactly what they want with no thought or respect for the impact it will have.

But we depend on the oceans. They hold 97% of the planet's water, produce more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere and absorb the most carbon from it. Over 2 billion people rely on the oceans for their primary source of food. Destroying the ocean is threatening everything that lives in it.

Sharks are just one of the species that are in real danger. But ironically, society has taught us that sharks that are dangerous and you grow up believing it. But when you see the very thing you were told to fear underwater: it’s absolutely incredible. If sharks were the evil, deadly man eaters that the media sensationalises them to be, then I would have probably been eaten years ago.

However, I believe that sharks know we are not prey. Millions of people swim every year in waters where sharks hunt all the time. If they wanted to eat us they would, but they don’t.

Swimming with sharks I feel vulnerable, clumsy and small. They have an aura of invincibility, but nothing is as it seems. Sharks are in serious trouble. Every single second of every single day around 3 sharks are killed by us. With 90% of the world's shark populations already wiped out, sharks are being depleted faster than they can reproduce and if an apex predator is taken out of any ecosystem then eventually it is going to collapse. Sharks are vitally important; they have shaped life in the ocean for over 400 million years. Sharks kill 5 people each year. We legally execute 2,400 people a year and kill 100 million sharks. Is it really sharks that we should fear? Don’t fear them. Fear for them.

I believe that future generations are going to look back on us as barbarians, in the same way we now look back on slave traders.We are driving species to extinction and the worst part is that we know what we’re doing and yet we’re still allowing it to happen. I just hope that by the time people finally see sense, it isn’t too late, the damage isn’t irreversible and we aren’t faced with the extinction of species.

People protect what they love, this is what I love and I’m determined to fight for it. I want future generations to grow up to be able to experience the same ocean that I have. But if this carries on, in the next 4 years 30% of known species of sharks and rays could become extinct. Once they’re gone we’ve lost them forever. We will have to carry that on our conscience; it will be the fault of mankind. We have caused these problems, now it is our duty to fix them.

People don’t see what goes on in the oceans so it’s easy for them to ignore. They wanted to save bears, leopards and elephants; mankind was afraid of sharks and creatures of the deep. However I believe that if others had witnessed what I have seen in my lifetime from hundreds of hours underwater, I would not seem outspoken at all.