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I was sitting on the edge of the boat, my back against the water.
Mask, check, fins, check,
air pressure, 3,000 psi.
I grabbed my camera and started the countdown.
Three, two, one, I rolled back and hit the water.
As the bubbles settled and the visibility cleared, I felt it.
This could be the dive I've always dreamed of.
As I descended, I was surrounded by over 70 sharks from different species.
We reached the sandy floor and formed a semi-circle.
My mum was to my left.
I started shooting away, my favorite.
A beautiful lemon shark arrived.
Finally, 20 minutes into the dive, the thing I've been waiting.
Two massive tiger sharks, one of them measuring over 15 feet in length.
They started circling the group and
getting close, Very close.
As the larger of the two sharks, swam past me,
heading towards my mum, I saw it sigh then wipe,
something they do right before biting.
The shark suddenly turned and smacked me with its tail.
I lost my balance, but as soon as I regained it, I clipped the shutter and
saw the scariest image I've ever taken.
The shark took a bite of my mom.
Luckily, she had her camera with her and was able to use it as a shield.
But the shark keep biting, pushing her further and
further away from the group with each bite.
Finally, it let go.
Just when I thought we were safe, the shark turned and
this time headed straight at me.
The same thing happened,
it sigh then wipe, and a bite followed.
After this, we decided to abort the dive.
>> [LAUGH]
>> Once we reached the surface, and
the fear and adrenaline faded, my head flooded with questions.
Why did the dive go so wrong, who was at fault?
In hindsight, we changed the behavior of the shark by chumming the water,
which is putting dead bait in a cage to lure them in.
The shark was acting normal, it was looking for the food they were sensing.
In fact, it was even being gentle.
Remember, this animals weigh 1,500 pounds, have teeth,
as sharp as racers that can crush a turtle shell, just like that.
Yet none of us had a scratch, not my mum,
not my me, not even the crystal dome of the camera had a scratch.
This dive was a turning point for me.
For the past ten years, I've been travelling the most remote places in
the world looking for animals that we've driven to the brink of extinction
all to promote conservation through photography.
My thinking was, that if I show you the giant of the ocean,
Some of it's tiniest creatures, there's a sea urchin there,
let's see if you can spot it.
Or even big stars, most famous stars.
>> [LAUGH] >> Your mind will be flooded
with curiosity.
And you'll want to experience and explore the ocean.
And I know deep inside that once you do,
you'll fall in love with it and want to protect it, just like I did.
However, I was not having the impact I hoped for.
As much as I wanted my passion and love for the ocean to be contagious,
the truth is we are very detached from the ocean and
it is very hard to protect something that seems so foreign.
For example, on the left, we have a picture of my Labradoodle Smokey.
>> [LAUGH] >> This handsome dog got 107 likes
on Instagram.
On the right, we have a flying whale with only 44 likes.
>> [LAUGH] >> I mean, Smoky is very cute I know but
two and a half times as cute as a flying whale?
>> [LAUGH] >> Moreover, after my encounter
with the shark, I finally understood that there is no image beautiful enough or
story compelling enough that I can tell you, that I can tell someone who's
afraid of the ocean or afraid of sharks that would make them want to dive.
A fear I could now relate to.
If I couldn't reach people's hearts, I needed to find a better way.
I came across this organization called Oceana,
whose mission is save the ocean, feed the world.
I realized that the ocean is much more than a beautiful place.
Today, 1 billion people depend on the ocean,
including some of the world's poorest.
But we're taking much more than the ocean can produce.
And in the process, we're destroying a very delicate balance,
that took millions of years to perfect.
To add to the problem, we will soon reach 9 billion people.
And we don't have the resources to feed such a large and growing population.
The ocean offers an abundant and sustainable source of food for the world.
And unlike land-based agriculture or farming,
wild fish produce no greenhouse gases.
It does not consume our precious and scarce fresh water and
does not utilize fertile land.
But to take advantage of this natural resource,
we need to change the nature of our relationship with the ocean.
Sharks are a sign of a healthy ocean because they protect the coral reefs
by controlling the population of smaller predator fish who feed on herbivores.
Without these carnivores, algae expands and
coral can no longer compete, killing off the reef.
These reefs are critical, they are the breathing ground for
all fish species, without them, fish population deplete.
Today, we kill 100 million sharks per year.
That is almost 12,000 sharks per hour.
Imagine the impact we are having on the balance of marine ecosystems.
We have already wiped out over 90% of all large fish
species like to tunas and sharks.
In contrast, sharks skill 12 humans per year.
So I ask you, who is the deadliest predator?
Who should we be afraid of?
For some people, images like the one I have shown you,
awaken our sense of wonder, and
make us want to explore what's 70% of the world's surface is made of.
For others not so much but no matter what group you're in,
the ocean is our most precious and valuable resource and
it holds a key to our future.
So what can we do to protect it?
We can follow and support organizations like Oceana.
We can elect government officials who support good ocean policy and
we can eat sustainable food.
It is not too late,
we can replenish fish populations in as little as 10 years, making this
goal attainable in our lifetime an issue to push in the political agenda.
Let's change how we coexist with the ocean.
And together, let's provide 1 billion healthy and
sustainable fish meals a day to the world.
Thank you.
>> [APPLAUSE]
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