David Attenborough's Ocean documentary has a scene straight out of Dune

Like a massive, skulking sandworm retired of Frank Herbert's Dune, determination exists an inescapable maw wherever each successful its destructive way — from food struggling to fly to crabs tangled up successful the nets — are doomed. 

But this isn't the godforsaken satellite Arrakis, it's Earth — and the beast is simply a bottommost trawler, grinding the oversea level indiscriminately for fish. 

This is the shocking point-of-view infinitesimal successful Ocean with David Attenborough, the latest and perchance 1 of the legendary broadcaster's past documentaries, releasing successful prime Canadian theatres Saturday and streaming connected Disney+ connected June 8. 

"After surviving for astir a 100 years connected this planet, I present recognize the astir important spot connected Earth is not connected onshore … but astatine sea," Attenborough, who turned 99 this month, says successful the film.

But beyond the horrors of concern fishing, the movie besides brings an unthinkable look astatine the grandeur, fragility and assemblage of a satellite beneath the waves. 

One ocean, galore wonders 

Notably, the movie is called Ocean, and not oceans, to thrust location the interconnectedness of the waters connected the satellite and each the beingness that depends connected it. 

"The food spell wherever they go, they don't request visas," joked Rashid Sumaila, water and fisheries economist astatine the University of British Columbia.

"We enactment each these lines: Atlantic, Pacific, precocious seas and state waters. And truthful this reasoning of 1 connected water is important if we are going to beryllium capable to negociate our ocean." 

From elephantine seamounts successful the unfastened water to the "mesmerizing" coral reefs and swaying kelp forests of the coastal seas, the movie brings viewers to "a satellite successful delicate balance" that fewer person ever seen up adjacent successful this benignant of detail. 

Ewan Trégarot, marine ecologist and underwater lensman with the University of Portsmouth successful England, knows the effort of filming successful these ecosystems. 

"I was conscionable amazed by the profusion of beingness and the dynamism," Trégarot described. His dives person taken him to French Guiana, French Polynesia and Martinique successful the Caribbean. 

"It takes a batch of patience. It's truly tricky due to the fact that we are precise constricted successful the clip and extent arsenic well," Tregarot told CBC News from adjacent Nice, France. "So you person to prime your moment." 

The quality and vastness featured successful Ocean besides highlights a cardinal misconception that experts accidental radical have. 

"It's truthful large, the ocean, galore radical deliberation we tin ne'er wounded it," Sumaila said successful an interrogation from Whitehorse. "But it's besides fragile capable that we person the capacity, the technology, the greed to really instrumentality this happening down."

Losing an Amazon each year

The trawling country is made each the much stark due to the fact that the signifier is not lone approved, but repetitive. 

"An country the size of the Amazon rainforest is trawled each twelvemonth and overmuch of that seabed is trawled implicit and over," Attenborough narrates successful the film. 

Ana Queirós, main researcher astatine Plymouth Marine Laboratory successful Devon, England, calls it a hard world to grapple with. 

"In the U.K., wherever we deliberation we person beauteous bully biology protections," Queirós explained, "When you recognize the grade of trawling, it's rather shocking, actually." 

The movie suggests that the changeless dredging of these water sediments disturbs immense amounts of stored carbon, further contributing to planetary warming. Queirós warns that this mightiness beryllium an incomplete picture.

"Not each of the oversea level is borne the same, and determination are areas that, indeed, clasp precise aged and precise agelong c stores that we decidedly request to support from these types of activities," Queirós described, adding that determination are different areas that clasp little carbon. However, she says much mapping and cognition is needed truthful that immoderate aboriginal activities tin see however to bounds their c impact.

Unequal Protection

To beryllium clear, the movie is not a treatise against fishing. If anything, it says the existent methods are unsustainable and inequitable. Much similar 2009's The End of the Line, assemblage voices assistance bring that connection alive, including Indigenous and coastal fishers who conflict to vie against ample commercialized operations. 

One of those voices, Aulani Wilhelm, introduces america to Papahānaumokuākea, a marine protected country (MPA) northwest of the Hawaiian islands. While Ocean shows america the stunning diverseness recovered successful this ample Pacific preserve, it makes a wider constituent that MPAs tin really assistance boost sustainable fishing.

"All technological probe shows that having marine protected areas wherever marine beingness tin breed, turn and prolong themselves really increases the drawback successful the surrounding areas," said Akaash Maharaj, caput of argumentation for Nature Canada. 

Canada presently has 14 MPAs, crossed Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic waters, and Nature Canada is pushing for much successful bid to support the government's pledge of protecting 30 per cent of its waters by 2030. 

"In the Arctic, those areas are particularly susceptible to clime change, and indeed, clime alteration is moving astatine the fastest gait astatine the poles," Maharaj said, besides suggesting aboriginal increases of shipping postulation successful the Pacific besides endanger ecosystems there. 

However, helium and different experts pass MPAs are not ever efficaciously protected and deficiency enforcement, starring to alleged "paper parks." Protection whitethorn besides not beryllium permanent, arsenic seen precocious with different Hawaiian reserve, wherein a caller U.S. enforcement bid is seeking to let commercialized fishing. 

Global responsibility

Ocean opens wide connected streaming conscionable earlier the 2025 UN Ocean Conference, wherever governments, researchers and different stakeholders enactment connected issues of sustainable water management. 

Experts spot a important infinitesimal to curb the harm done by the multiplying threats of overfishing, contamination and clime change. 

"There's a batch of america moving to effort and hole these problems," Queirós said. "What I truly privation is for radical to consciousness that it's truly important that we proceed to bash this enactment for our kids and for the kids coming aft them." 

Sumaila agrees, saying we person much than the powerfulness to destroy. 

"We besides person the empathy, the knowledge, the wisdom, to truly enactment to support our ocean, marque definite it continues. Because it's truthful important."