The Ocean A-List: Meet the heroes and heroines of ocean conservation

With the ever-increasing threats facing the world's oceans, protection and conservation is a task for the many not the few and where the heroes and heroines of ocean conservation lead, the rest of us would do well to follow. By Olivia Falcon.

Cristina Mittermeier

Cristina Mittermeier and Paul Nicklen are both photographers and marine biologists who harness the power of the lens to show the real story about what’s going on underneath the ocean. In 2015 this talented duo launched SeaLegacy, a collective of highly acclaimed photographers and film-makers who share their images and films with scientists, conservationists, policymakers and selected media partners to spread their ocean-saving mission. This inspirational group of storytellers is on the front line and sees first hand the damage that is inflicted on marine life. “When there is an emergency, like an oil spill or a hurricane, we are able to deploy a team of photographers to the site immediately so that they can document the crisis and we can share the images with partners and the media,” says Mittermeier.

With a social media reach of more than 70 million and National Geographic as a partner, this group of snappers is punching well above its weight and proving that pictures speak louder than words.

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"People often wonder if the inspiration behind the work of our foundation is our brand colour, Tiffany Blue, which recalls the beauty of the sea,” says Kamadoli Costa, who heads up the Tiffany & Co Foundation, a philanthropic initiative established in 2000 that is dedicated to helping preserve the world’s most treasured seascapes and landscapes. “We are, in fact, driven by something much bigger. The ocean is a critical resource for all of the world’s people and yet many are still unaware of its plight.”

The foundation awards grants to a wide range of non-profit organisations, from Sailors for the Sea, which engages sailing communities in ocean conservation with its Clean Regattas programmes, to Oceans 5 and Pew’s Global Ocean Legacy, which protect coral reefs and create new marine protected areas. The foundation also focuses on education and last year helped finance Valen’s Reef, an underwater virtual reality film that transports viewers to Bird’s Head Seascape (one of the planet’s most biodiverse reefs) in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. “We hope this will inspire younger generations to become future champions of oceans,” says Kamadoli Costa. “There has been noteworthy progress in the last few years, notably in the Coral Triangle in the western Pacific. My experiences always remind me that we are at a crucial tipping point with our oceans, but that it’s not too late.”

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"I had been working as the chair of the environmental committee on Mustique for four years, when I became aware that the issues facing the island were just a microcosm of the entire region,” says Adams, who set up the St Vincent and the Grenadines Preservation Fund in March 2015 with funding from many of Mustique’s homeowners.

The singer, who has been holidaying on the island since 2002, has witnessed coral bleaching, overfishing and works to protect endangered species. “I’d say the biggest threat by far to this region is overfishing. It’s done on an industrial scale, by commercial and pirate fishermen and the knock-on effects are catastrophic for local fishermen. The lack of fish is putting the reefs under stress and causes larger predators such as tiger sharks to come into shallower water when deep-sea fish are scarce. The main thing we are focusing on with the fund is the protection of turtles and whales, and educating people that killing off these rare and beautiful creatures is killing off the ecotourism that is the backbone of the future local economy.

It’s counter-intuitive to the government’s plan to develop tourism – having just spent millions developing a new airport. There needs to be a shift towards greater conservation. These islands are like the Caribbean Galápagos. They have a rich biodiversity from the seabirds, marine life and amazing leatherback turtles – there is so much to see. There are signs that there is a shift towards more conservation, and that is very encouraging.”

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Here’s another reason Williams can make you happy: when he’s not filling dance floors with feet pounding to his catchy tunes, he’s turning recycled ocean plastic into some pretty nifty threads. As the co-owner and (try not to smile) Head of Imagination of G-Star RAW, the pioneering Dutch denim brand, he was pivotal in the RAW For the Oceans denim collection.

This used recycled ocean plastic, integrated into a high-tech “bionic yarn” that was carefully woven into jeans making G-Star RAW one of the key fashion brands helping save the oceans. “We are not shoving it in your face,” said Williams. “If you’re wearing it, you’re supporting our issue to be sustainable – [the cause] is in the clothes.” In the three years since its launch, the project used an estimated two million reclaimed plastic bottles and almost 1,000 tonnes of plastic debris in its products. The label is following the project with a commitment to using sustainable or recycled materials.

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This pioneering charity was set up by TV producer Jo Ruxton and lawyer Sonjia Norman when Ruxton was making A Plastic Ocean. This impactful documentary film, first shown in 2016 and now on general release, is a heartfelt call to action in response to the neglectful way we dispose of plastic and the heinous effect it has on marine life and consequently human health as it enters the food chain. “I wanted the film to have a legacy,” says Ruxton. “I wanted to take it forward through education and science programmes. The film is the first of our education tools, but it’s just the beginning because there is so much work to be done.”

What started as an expedition to the Pacific garbage patch in 2009 has turned into a life’s mission to change people’s behaviour within a generation. Ruxton is working with exam boards that operate in 170 countries to get this issue into the curriculum. “Once people realise what’s going on then the right minds are going to come up with solutions… it’s the most crazy situation we’ve got ourselves into and it’s the easiest one to solve.”

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In an industry that operates largely on face value, La Mer has taken a deep dive into protecting the marine habitats it relies on for its Crème de la Mer anti-ageing skincare range. Championing the sustainable harvesting of sea kelp (only the top prongs are hand picked, twice a year, to keep the plant and ecosystem intact) and partnering with world-renowned oceanographers such as National Geographic Society’s explorer-in-residence Dr Sylvia Earle, La Mer is committed to raising awareness of marine conservation. “The ocean is an integral part of La Mer’s brand heritage and we are always looking to expand our support of programmes that improve the health of it,” explains Sandra Main, its global brand president.

The company also established La Mer’s Blue Heart, a philanthropic effort that raises awareness with limited edition jars of face cream (released on World Oceans Day) and has partnered with charities such as Oceana in previous years to help protect more than 16.4 million square miles of diverse ocean habitats around the world.

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"For more than half a century, Blancpain has been intimately connected with the ocean,” says Blancpain’s president and CEO, Marc Hayek. “While our legendary Fifty Fathoms timepieces have played a central role, we see our mission as extending far beyond the creation of the world’s finest diving watches.” In 2014 the company launched its Ocean Commitment programme, which supports a large number of scientific endeavours including exploration initiatives, underwater photography and environmental forums. The company also launched a limited-edition Fifty Fathoms Bathyscaphe Ocean Commitment watch and donated the proceeds of €250,000 to a range of oceanic endeavours and charities including the 2014 Gombessa Project, a marine expedition in French Polynesia. Following the success of this project, which is now studying newly observed hunting patterns of sharks, a Fifty Fathoms Ocean Commitment II watch was launched in October 2016 and proceeds from every sale will be donated to the Ocean Commitment programme.

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Y.CO, the luxury yacht broker and management company, is leading the charge with its CLEARWATER initiative, which will educate crew and in turn owners and charterers on reducing the environmental impact of yacht operations to protect the oceans. “We’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time,” says Hatty Campbell, who is spearheading the programme. “We manage almost 100 yachting operations around the world and I think the idea of influencing, inspiring and working with this number of yachts and crew is exciting.”

The war on plastic is the mission for 2017 as it plans to reduce the impact of plastic bottles on board the yachts it manages. Y.CO has teamed up with the creators of the documentary A Plastic Ocean to educate crew on the dangers of plastic and has partnered with the reusable, chic stainless steel water bottle company S’well. “But it’s going much, much deeper than that,” says Y.CO co-founder Charlie Birkett, who hopes crews will ask themselves “how are we as a boat going to do something that is environmentally friendly and, for example, help an island in the South Pacific?”

It was, after all, the Y.CO-managed Dragonfly that provided lifesaving relief to the outer islands of Vanuatu when Cyclone Pam struck in 2015. With plans to get scientists, charities and marine biologists on board to educate crew, and an idea to create official accreditation for those crew that go the extra mile, Y.CO is at the forefront of how the industry can show a brighter way of thinking.

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