Meet our Ocean Heroes
They love our seas and oceans and have devoted their lives to protecting them – sometimes at immense personal cost. Marine environments around the world are better off because of them. We salute their bravery.
Nour Farid’s earliest childhood memories are of a generous and abundant Red Sea, and he dedicated his life to protecting this delicate marine ecosystem. As Managing Director of HEPCA, Nour shares the story of the NGO’s origins, and its innovative measures to safeguard Egypt’s Great Fringing Reef.
LPF Patron Asha de Vos is known for her seminal work on blue whales, but she is also a voice for diversity in marine science. In her recent essay for the New York Times, she stresses that equity and inclusivity in marine conservation have never been more crucial.
In his memoir, Reef Life (Profile Books), Britain’s pre-eminent marine conservation scientist tells of how he fell in love with the ‘rainforests of the ocean’, and of his concerns for coral in the face of global warming. In this extract, he takes us back to the Red Sea three decades after his first encounter with coral there…
Once upon a time, writer and freediver Helen Walne was scared of the ocean – until she discovered the magical world of kelp forests. Her astonishing photographs of the kelp and its creatures inspire thousands to respect and protect this precious ocean ecosystem.
When Richard first conceived of a documentary about coral, he wanted to make people fall in love so that they would join him in saving it. But as he and the crew of filmmaker Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Ice and The Social Dilemma) followed coral bleaching events in the Great Barrier Reef, they realised they were witnessing the death of an ecosystem on an unprecedented scale.
From her base in Greenland, LPF’s Arctic Patron introduces people to vast Arctic wilderness – and transforms them into ambassadors for our environment.
What comes to mind when you hear the words polar scientist? When Antarctic seal researcher Prem Gill asked that question in 2018, he didn’t see himself in the picture. So he set up Polar Impact to support people of colour working at the poles, and increase access to and diversity in polar science.
On 13 August 2013, Cape Town lifesaver Achmat Hassiem lost a leg to a Great White Shark. He went on to become a Paralympic medallist and a UN Global Shark Guardian.
Where have all the Great Whites gone? We asked shark photographer and marine conservationist Chris Fallows to name his top three strategies to save South Africa’s sharks.
