J
acques-Yves Cousteau, a French
naval-officer-turned-underwa-
ter-filmmaker, was one of the
biggest forces in environmental
conservation of the last cen-
tury. From his oceanographic vessel
Calypso, Cousteau, who died in 1997 at
age 87, and his partners explored the
planet’s seas, shooting innovative, edu-
cational documentaries underneath the
surface. Often, he brought his family
aboard. Cousteau’s brilliantly produced
films and television series, The Undersea
World of Jacques Cousteau, were instru-
Above: Jacques
Cousteau’s
grandson
Philippe working
with young
leaders during
an EarthEcho
International
project.
mental in constructing a public
consciousness around preserving and
protecting underwater ecosystems.
In the more than two decades since
his death, many descendants of the
red-capped patriarch further his legacy
with various projects in oceanic conser-
vation and scientific discovery. Penta
reached out to several of them.
Fabien Cousteau
Fabien, 53, is bringing his grandfa-
ther’s vision of an underwater research
station to life with PROTEUS. Set to be
the world’s largest underwater research
habitat, it will be built off Curaçao.
Fabien, who is based in New York City,
imagines it as an aquatic version of the
International Space Station, host to a
range of experiments and novel discov-
eries. After all, he notes, only a mere 5%
of the ocean has been explored.
The pioneering grandson, who
learned to dive at age 4, once spent a
record-setting 31 continuous days in
an underwater facility. The feat, which
produced 12 scientific studies and 9,800
published articles, was the seed for the
The Undersea World of the
Cousteau Family
The descendants of Jacques-Yves Cousteau carry on the great mariner’s legacy
By BRENT CRANE
16 | PENTA | December 2020