Ocean

A book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.

SAM'S REVIEW

There are few naturalists in the Western world more famous than David Attenborough. Charles Darwin would be one. Perhaps Jane Goodall. Attenborough's documentaries have defined the photography, cinematography and storytelling of nature for the past 70 years. Ocean is the book that accompanies his most recent documentary series of the same name and, while written in conjunction with Colin Butfield, it carries the hallmarks of all Attenborough's work. It transports you to the wildest and remotest of locations and, with clear-eyed passion and lightly-worn expertise, introduces you to the most wonderful and weird of creatures.

The book takes you deep under the waves to coral reefs, kelp forests and seamounts; to the shallows of mangroves and the cold of the Arctic; and on to the vastness of the open ocean. In each section, the lives of individual creatures are used to explain the wider ecosystem. 

Whales are often the hero, their longevity, huge migration distances and impact on all parts of oceans providing the backdrop and lifeblood to many smaller creatures. The authors explain that, with the depth and scale of the oceans, it is only with the recent advancements in technology that we have begun to scratch the surface of what lies beneath the waves, that 'over the lifetime of a single blue whale we have discovered more about our ocean than in the rest of human history combined'. One recent discovery was that "a dead whale falling to the bottom might create a habitat for a year or two". Even greater than this, the International Monetary Fund calculated that even a 1 per cent increase in phytoplankton, which is produced by whales' poo, 'would be the equivalent of the instant appearance on Earth of 2 billion mature trees.' In death, whales provide habitats. In defecating, they mitigate the climate catastrophe. 

While the book is frank about the precarious state of the oceans due to global warming and over-fishing, it offers hope that the damage done can be rectified. The authors start by giving the example of the North Sea, the fish stock of which was dangerously low prior to World War 2 but recovered when mines, submarines and battleships grounded the fishing fleet: "An accidental experiment, for the grimmest of reasons, it will nonetheless yield the first large-scale evidence that the ocean can recover faster than we had ever imagined"

Fishing isn't villanised, in fact its importance as both food source and cultural practice is frequently referenced. However, the authors very calmly express their ire for industrial-fishing fleets. These floating cities, which stay at sea for months at a time, drag heavy nets across the ocean floor "often hauling up centuries old coral and sponge gardens along with the fish they were targeting. It was like clear-cutting a forest to catch deer". Furthermore, they catch "less than 1 per cent of the fish we eat", which begs the question why are they supported by government subsidies? The alternative, the authors argue, lie in small localised fishing fleets using low-impact methods, which support communities and prevent overfishing and damage to the habitat. 

While the damage we've done to the oceans and our efforts to rectify this are a key feature of the book, its wonder lies with the mysteries we're uncovering in the deep. Perhaps the most consequential discovery of all those described in Ocean is one from 1977 in which a team of scientists found an active hypothermal vent - "a structure formed where cold seawater meets hot magma" - in the Galapagos Rift and discovered "an entire long-established ecosystem thriving on the nutrients and chemicals seeping out of the vents". This discovery blew apart the previously held convention that all food chains begin with photosynthesis, which relies on sunlight, and has left many scientists considering the site's conditions as "the closest yet found to those where life originated on Earth".   

In Ocean, Attenborough and Butfield have written a testament to the marvels of the deep blue and a hopeful, practical call to arms to protect it. They demonstrate that we can't survive if it doesn't but show how we can restore it, if not to full health, then to healthy enough, within our lifetimes. 

PUBLISHER REVIEW

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **

'Gripping... the wildlife is so fantastical that the images on the page feel like works of the imagination.' Evening Standard

'THIS IS THE STORY OF OUR OCEAN AND WE MUST WRITE ITS NEXT CHAPTER TOGETHER. FOR IF WE SAVE THE SEA, WE SAVE OUR WORLD. AFTER A LIFETIME OF FILMING OUR PLANET, I'M SURE THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT.'

From the icy seas of our poles to remote coral islands, David Attenborough has filmed in every ocean habitat on planet earth. Now, with long-term collaborator Colin Butfield, he shares the story of our last great wilderness - the one which shapes the land we live on, regulates our climate and creates the air we breathe.

Dive into eight unique saltwater habitats, swim through kelp forests, mangroves and coral reefs and down almost 11,000 feet to the deepest corners of the most unexplored ecosystem on our planet.

Experience a journey of wonder and discovery, populated by green turtles and blue whales; clownfish and bioluminescent jellyfish; the vampire squid and the 'head-less chicken monster' - a strange form of sea cucumber that lives at the very bottom of the ocean.

With the warmth, intelligence and awe that characterises all of David Attenborough's landmark series, Ocean shows us a world which is both desperately fragile yet astonishingly resilient, with an extraordinary capacity to repair itself. It's not too late to restore our most vital habitat. If we treat it with respect, our marine world will be even richer and more spectacular than we can imagine.

A book almost a century in the making, but one that has never been more urgently needed.