Everything is connected in this world, and the ocean may be proof of that. The all-new Netflix docuseries Our Oceans explores the five bodies of water the series refers to as one global current.
Narrated by former President Barack Obama, Our Oceans is a five-part docuseries that goes below to show viewers how the creatures and animals that inhabit the bodies of water that surround us live, which isn’t too far from how humans navigate life on land.
For Our Oceans series researcher, marine biologist, wildlife filmmaker, and conservationist Inka Cresswell, the ocean has been almost like her second home since she first began the practice of scuba diving at the tender age of 6. Her passion for exploring our oceans has fueled her career and almost led her to use filmmaking, photography, writing, and public speaking to connect people with the beauty that the oceans encompass and raise awareness of their critical role in our livelihood.
Cresswell knows that her work is part of a greater mission to share a wealth of knowledge on how the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans all play a crucial role in human life, influencing our economy, environment and overall well-being.
“I have always loved the ocean,” Cresswell told Blavity’s Shadow and Act recently at Monterrey Bay during a glimpse into the series. “I’m from Brighton, which is on the south coast of England, so I could literally see the sea from my home. And, for me, that was kind of my backyard was the ocean. My parents are also big ocean people and always enjoy spending time at the beach. We used to go rock-pooling all the time, and it was those experiences, I think, that just opened my eyes to this magic that was our ocean.”
At the age of 5 or 6, Cresswell decided to pursue a marine biology career. Thanks to her parents ‘ friends, she was close to a marine biologist. That, coupled with the fact that her father was an avid scuba diver and learned to dive at a very young age, one may say that the stars, or in this case, the waves, were written for Cresswell to grow up and do her work.
“There was a local scuba diving club in the area, and when he was teaching classes in the pool with his friends, we had a kid scuba diving club where we would dive for change at the bottom of the swimming pool and other things,” she recalled. “So, I just became so confident in the water, and then finally made it out into the ocean scuba diving, and it was the best experience of my life.”
Has anything about the ocean blown her away?
Research shows roughly 20% of the ocean has been mapped and explored in detail, leaving about 80% to the imagination.
With a background in marine biology and a master’s degree in wildlife filmmaking, Cresswell offers a unique perspective on the stories of our oceans. Each dive is a new adventure, perhaps why she beamed with joy when asked about anything she’s discovered during her research that took her aback (in the best way, of course).
“One of the things that I thought was absolutely amazing was learning that humpback whales have favorite songs and like hits,” she shared. “You’ll have a humpback whale that will sing the song in one part of the world, and then other humpback whales will hear that song and be like, ‘Oh, I like that one.’ And they’ll start singing it too. They can travel entire ocean basins just because they like the sound of each other’s songs, and they’ll keep singing them.”
She added, “It’s one of those little things that we would learn along the way that make you go, ‘They’re really not that different to us, and they are the same when it comes to a lot of these fantastic behaviors.’ Like the handfish, which is in our Southern episode, and the fact that it’s this fierce mother, and they’re critically, critically endangered — only a few 1,000 of them left in the wild — the way that she protects her young, she does everything you can imagine, like kicks and flips and fights and all sorts against some of the biggest predators you’ve seen. And she’s tiny, and it’s just because she wants to protect her kids.”
Cresswell said that so many lovely little things feel so much like the human experience when observing the various wildlife in the sea.
How does she hope Our Oceans shifts one’s perspective about the deep blue sea?
Above all, Cresswell hopes people will realize how connected Earth’s five oceans are.
“The most important thing for people to take away from the series is the understanding that all our oceans are connected,” Cresswell concluded. “We don’t have five separate oceans, but we have one ocean that is one shared responsibility, and that our actions in one side of the world can have impact to people on the other side of the planet, and our actions don’t only impact the wildlife and their habitats, but they can impact ourselves.”
She continued, “Throughout the series, we learn about the ocean’s role in keeping our entire planet habitable, from regulating our climate and storing carbon … and it’s what keeps us alive,” she continued. “It’s kind of our lifeblood, and that only works when we conserve our oceans. And I think in the same way that I want them to take away — that what we do can have an impact to people on the other side of the world — the positive things can also have an impact to people on the other side of the world. So that, as well as a really hopeful idea that actually might feel like a really small, local action to you, can have global consequences.”
The five-part series is now streaming on Netflix.
Our Oceans is executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama and James Honeyborne, and Jonathan Smith produces it alongside Freeborne Media, Wild Space Productions and Higher Ground.
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