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 wonder and amazement 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. Earth?

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WARNING - ITS JUST A BIT OF FUN!! Here's a short video that I put together for my Mother-in-Laws 60th birthday to commemorate her first experience of predatory sharks. Armed only with the handle from a cricket bat we threw Eileen into the sea with a Blue Shark in Cornwall last summer. I wasn't going to put this online, but hey what the hell.... hopefully you'll realise that even shark conservationists can have some fun now and again! :)The Sharkbeater!!

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When you first take up diving you can easily become overwhelmed by the shear beauty of our underwater world. There's so much life and beauty and it's just so different to life above water that there is so much to take in. The day you see your first shark will be etched into your memory forever, as will many other new and wonderful experiences, especially the big stuff. As you progress in experience and visit new locations though you'll begin to become more and more fascinated by what is NOT initially visible. That small crab or shrimp hiding away in an anemone, or a critter that is so well camouflaged that you'd never have seen it if it were not for more perceptive and experienced eyes.This film is dedicated to all the wonderful, weird, beautiful and sometimes bizarre creatures that can be found on patches of sand and rubble within the indo-pacific region. They are not always apparent, but can offer just as much enjoyment and wonder as any other aspect of our diverse underwater world.Hubble Bubble Sand & Rubble

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The Porbeagle shark is a close relative to the Great White. Like many shark species commercial fishing has massively depleted their population, to which the Porbeagle is particularly sensitive due to their nature to aggregate in large numbers in coastal waters.This film documents a ground breaking expedition off of the coast of Cornwall, UK to satellite tag this amazing shark for the first time in the NE Atlantic. In addition to achieving all of the scientific objectives, we also obtained the first ever comprehensive footage of free swimming Porbeagles.Porbeagles in Peril

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I was extremely humbled when I found out that my short film 'Sharkbeat' had been awarded the Gold Medal at 'Under the Blue 2007' International Underwater Photography and Video Competition. The submission guidelines were to create maximum impact in a film of no longer than 60 seconds. What can you do in 60 seconds? Normally a film hasn't even got to the start credits by that point! So it was a real challenge and hopefully I did the competition justice with my film.Sharks are a passion, sometimes even an obsession of mine, but they are literally on the very brink of extinction. Worldwide populations of some species have declined by up to 90% over the last generation, due to bycatch and industrial fishing for their fins, which are used for the grotesque 'Shark Fin Soup'. Sharks play a vital role in our Oceans' ecosystem and action needs to be taken now to avoid catastrophy.Sharkbeat

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Occasionally you surface from a dive awed, amazed and utterely speachless and diving the SS Thistlegorm certainly leaves you with many of those emotions. Perhaps the most famous wreck dive in the world, she certainly lives up to her reputation and should be on every divers must visit list. The only downside to the whole experience is the sad looks, gazes and knowing glances from divers who had visited years before and the wispered words 'you really should have seen her 5 years ago'. On the day we arrived we were lucky to be one of only three boats to be tied up to the wreck. I say lucky because I've heard horror stories of in excess of 30 dive boats being moored up on occasions and the heavy diver traffic has certainly paid its price. It can't be too long now before her superstructure starts to destabilise and make penertration very dangerous, if not impossible. It's so sad that such a precious gem of a wreck could be lost to our world, like so many other wonders that we are destroying in our oceans these days....SS Thistlegorm

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Red Sea Wrecks - The Giannis DOur first podcast from the Red Sea invites you to take a tour of the impressive wreck of the Giannis D. Lying at 24m, she feels to be a much bigger wreck than her 100 metre length would suggest. She sank in 1983 when she ran into the reef at Abu Nuhas that had claimed so many other hapless vessels before her. Her last voyage had departed from Croatia with a cargo of Mahogany and she was enroute to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia when disaster struck.The wreck itself lies in three sections and can be navigated on a single dive. Penetration is possible in places, with the engine room being of particular interest. A great dive - certainly one you'll want to do again and again.Giannis D

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Operation Leviathan - Defending the Whales of Antarctica 2006-2007The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society www.seashepherd.org have been defending our planets oceans for the last 30 years. Their primary focus is direct action to uphold and enforce international laws, where no enforcement exists.Operation Leviathan plans to build upon their success from last year when they confronted the Japanese Whaling Fleet within the Southern Ocean Whale sanctuary. This year the Japanese Fleet has already set sail to Antarctica and are planning to defy public opinion and illegally kill in excess of 1000 Whales. Sea Shepherd's two ships are the only thing standing against them.This podcast shows some stunning underwater footage of whales, the courageous actions taken by the Sea Shepherd volunteers, but it also shows some graphic footage of whales being slaughtered by the Japanese boats.I urge you to visit the Sea Shepherd website (www.seashepherd.org) to find out more about this amazing organisation, support them however you are able to and pray that they are able to stop this horrendous slaughter of our planets gentle giants.You can also view the Operation Leviathan podcasts directly from the Southern Ocean by visiting www.whalesafebeer.comOperation Leviathan

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Blue Sharks are a truly pelagic species. Travelling vast distances, their journeys can span entire oceans. From the east coast of the Americas to the west coast of Europe and Africa and similarly on both sides of the Pacific basin, Blue Sharks are at home. This short film was shot 12 miles offshore from Padstow in Cornwall during this years Shark Cornwall pilot project. Seeing predatory sharks off the coast of the UK was a remarkable experience and one which we hope to be able to enjoy again in the future.True Blue

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Over the last 40 years, Spain's Mediterranean coast has become one of the busiest tourist destinations in Europe. The millions of sun worshipers and party animals who flock there every summer are searching for Sun, Sea and Sangria, but as is often the case if you scratch just beneath the surface you can be amazed at what you find. Just inland from the coastline, the Costa Blanca is pocketed with a large number of salt lakes which form habitats for wading birds, small fish and crustaceans. They are also rumoured to hold one or two surprises which we wanted to go and investigate further....Apologies in advance that you wont be able to view this film in higher resolution. Because most of the subjects are small and bordering on macro, much of the detail is lost when converting it to view as a Podcast. It looks great on a big screen though!!!Salt Lakes of the Costa Blanca

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Shark Cornwall Preview - An Interview with Richard Peirce.Recently I was lucky enough to visit Richard Peirce, Chairman of the Shark Trust (www.sharktrust.org) and founder of a new eco-tourist shark diving project called 'Shark Cornwall' (www.peirceshark.com). Richard is an amazingly interesting bloke, who along with his wife Jacqui, have dedicated their lives to shark conservation projects.We talked about many things, but this film is intended to be a brief preview into this coming summers project, where Richard hopes to get people close to predatory sharks for the first time in UK waters.Shark Cornwall Preview

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Whatever you may think about Sharks one thing is for certain - most are on the very brink of extinction. Today's populations of many Shark species are 70% lower than they were only a generation ago. Commercial fishing, mainly for their fins, has decimated these apex predators who had never evolved to be lower down on the food chain and have no means to reproduce themselves quick enough to sustain the numbers that are being taken from our seas and oceans every day. Current estimates indicate that we are killing 100 million sharks a year - that's over 250,000 per day!During our trip to the Bahamas we were lucky enough to dive with the local Caribbean Reef Sharks. It really was an absolute joy to see these amazing animals up close and we hope you enjoy this film showing them in all their glory. Look out for a special guest appearance by 'Ben' the friendly Nassau Grouper. Once again these fish are endangered and now protected in some areas, although imagine how p****d off I was that night when I got back to the hotel only to find them on the menu.....Let's enjoy the oceans while we can and do everything in our power to protect this amazing resource for future generations.Not on the Menu

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