Video: “Protect Our Coral Sea Campaign” with Val Taylor

We’re very excited to be contributing to the “Protect Our Coral Sea” campaign. Working with the Australian Marine Conservation Society and underwater filmmaking legend Valerie Taylor, we filmed and edited a campaign video to encourage the general public to get informed and to tell the pollies—environment minister Tony Burke, in particular—that the Coral Sea should be protected.

Special thanks to Charlie Thorley from the Sarah Shark team for helping with the audio sweetening.

The Coral Sea lies to the east of the Great Barrier Reef. I shot the footage over three days at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea, north-east of Cooktown. Three days out there was enough time so see that the place is in great shape and thoroughly deserving of protection.

As a keen recreational fisherman on the Great Barrier Reef, I can see the massive benefit of having a large totally protected sanctuary in the Coral Sea. Fish there can grow to their full adult size and participate in massive spawning events… which will ensure the long term survival of threatened species and more fish for us all on the Great Barrier Reef.

There will of course need to be some re-structuring of the fishing fleets. So I would hope some of those experienced captains and deckhands might be employed as rangers to patrol and protect the new marine reserve.

Either way, protecting the Coral Sea will lead to more fish inside the Great Barrier Reef, which means less fuel needed by fishermen to get to their fishing grounds. The GBR also provides a relatively calmer and safer workplace than the waters outside the reef.

—Josh