2019-08-01_Hong_Kong_Tatler

106 h o n g k o n g tat l e r. a u g u s t 2 0 1 9

Deep

Thinker

Marine biologist and explorer

Sylvia Earle has studied the

sea and its creatures for more

than 50 years. Now she’s

campaigning for a new wave

of marine parks

BY OLIVER GILES

On a hot, breezy morning in September 1979, the

oceanographer Sylvia Earle donned an armoured diving

suit, was strapped to the front of a small submarine and

dropped into the Pacifi c Ocean off the Hawaiian island

of Oahu. A few metres down, the thunder of the surf and

squawking of the seagulls had disappeared. At 100 metres

the light started to fade. By 200 metres it was almost pitch

black. At an incredible 381 metres, the sub hit the seabed

with a clunk and Earle untethered herself and stepped into

the darkness.

For many this would have been a nightmare. But for

Earle this record-breaking dive into the unknown was the

culmination of a long-held dream—a dream to explore

the oceans from balmy shallows to icy depths, from

whitewashed poles to colourful coral reefs. “I want to

explore everywhere, everywhere, everywhere,” says Earle

with a laugh. And explore she has. Over the course of her

career, Earle has led more than 100 scientifi c expeditions,

clocked more than 7,500 hours underwater and, among

other roles, held the position of chief scientist at the US

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Now, at the age of 83, Earle is leading what may be

her most ambitious project yet—to secure protection

for 30 per cent of the world’s seas by 2030 through

her foundation, Mission Blue. “With Mission Blue, we

didn’t want to have one more NGO that would be like a

competitor of all the others, but rather, one that would

serve as a gathering place and be a connector,” says Earle.

“A constituency, a voice for the ocean: that’s what this

really is. So we have more than 200 partners, and we

encourage individuals and communities around the

world to identify places in the ocean that they’re willing

to work for, to improve, places that are in need of care—

Hope Spots.”

Suggestions for Hope Spots have fl ooded in from

around the globe and, in the 10 years since Mission Blue

was founded, more than 100 have been selected by Earle

and a council of scientists. Where possible, Mission Blue IMAGES: ROLEX/BEN HASSETT (PORTRAIT); DAVID DOUBILET (EARLE UNDERWATER)