To tell the tales of our oceans, we first have to experience them. As water- men and women, we embark on targeted expeditions to study and protect marine creatures and habitats around the world. The team dedicates its exploration skills to the conservation of those species, which are most desperately in need of protection. Some of these adventures range from studying the movement patterns of great hammerhead sharks in the Caribbean to investigating the impact of plastic pollution on the legendary Komodo dragons of Indonesia. Through ocean exploration we become witnesses of the challenges our oceans face today. The team’s experiences, insights and encounters represent the essential ingredients to create meaningful stories aimed to inspire in young people all over the world a love for all things in the ocean.
To tell the tales of our oceans, we first have to experience them. As water- men and women, we embark on targeted expeditions to study and protect marine creatures and habitats around the world. The team dedicates its exploration skills to the conservation of those species, which are most desperately in need of protection. Some of these adventures range from studying the movement patterns of great hammerhead sharks in the Caribbean to investigating the impact of plastic pollution on the legendary Komodo dragons of Indonesia. Through ocean exploration we become witnesses of the challenges our oceans face today. The team’s experiences, insights and encounters represent the essential ingredients to create meaningful stories aimed to inspire in young people all over the world a love for all things in the ocean.
The Art of Breath-Hold Diving…
Breath-hold diving is an art form that human beings have been using for thousands of years in order to hunt and gather food from the sea and to earn their livelihoods. We humans are subtly connected to this habitat and all marine mammals in a very special way: when we hold our breath and descend under the ocean’s surface our heart beat slows as a way of safely prolong our time under water. With the advent of technology we somehow lost sight of this connection to the sea, we became separate from it, at best detached observers and at worst noisy intruders.
Breath-hold diving is silent, calm, relaxed and as if the diver was meant to be underwater – or at the very least become as close as humans can to belonging in a liquid environment. The Watermen Project’s team relies on its extensive freediving experience to explore the underwater world in the most respectful way possible. The ability to approach endangered and iconic marine species without disturbing them has proven to be of tremendous scientific value. Most importantly, stories and media of intimate close-up encounters between our water- men and women and marine life has inspired active support for ocean conservation amongst younger generations.
The Mysteries of Apex Predators…
For centuries the iconic predators of the world have found themselves to be our favourite characters in stories, fables and myths. Having emerged from tribal origins, our fears and fascinations of sharks, lions and wolves are as present today as they have ever been. The inaccurate, but popular, portrayals of predators as ‘dangerous killers’ has helped accelerate the dramatic decline of these animals world-wide. The Watermen Project’s team conducts scientific studies and conservation projects to help protect some of the world’s most iconic marine species. Their close-up encounters with these often misunderstood marine predators provide a positive storyline, one that is rooted in truth and respect, appealing to the fascination in all of us.
Unique Challenges in Unique Times…
The ocean is a dynamic and ever-changing environment. In the likewise fast-moving world of the 21st century, unique challenges require unique skillsets in order to solve them. As a small, resilient and efficient team of experienced ocean explorers, the Watermen Project has realised logistically-daring projects in some of the world’s most challenging waters, from producing virtual reality films of manta rays in the treacherous currents of Indonesia to placing scientific transmitters on scalloped hammerhead sharks in the depths of the Pacific, our water- men and women don’t ask themselves whether a challenge can be addressed or not, but how to maximise the conservation impact when addressing it.
