HER DEEPNESS
Sylvia Earle, who turns 83 this year, is perhaps one of the most famous and venerated marine biologists in the world. In 1970, she led the first ever all-female expedition to live and work underwater. The project, called Tektite II, catapulted her and her fellow aquanauts into the public eye, and coincidentally kick-started her decades-long partnership with Rolex. Today, Earle is a long-time Rolex Testimonee, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence (a great coincidence since Rolex recently forged a partnership with National Geographic), and she still focuses every ounce of her energy on exploring and conserving the blue lungs of our planet. In 2009, as part of her Ted Prize, she founded Mission Blue, an organisation that seeks to galvanise support for marine conservation. In particular, the organisation focuses on what they call Hope Spots, areas that are of vital importance to the health of the ocean. The criteria for a blue space to be designated a Hope Spot is varied; either because the area is home to a variety of endangered species, in need of particular attention to reverse damage from human activity, or even because it is of significant cultural value to the human community. As we listen to her speak over the three days in Cabo Pulmo, it becomes clear that Earle is a singularly focused and determined individual, whose life mission has been and will be to protect and explore the world beneath the waves. Her decades of research and exploration mean that she is in a unique position to speak on the health of the ocean—not many people have lived to see the ocean in both its early majestic glory and its current age of anxiety. She recounts her experiences, expressing grief during a recent visit to Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji fish market (“only 2.8 per cent of the bluefin tuna in the Pacific Ocean remain”), joy at the memory of swimming among sharks in the 1960s (“There were as many of them as stars in the sky—it was a galaxy of sharks”), and frustration at the human indifference to our impact on the oceans. “No species has changed the oceans more than humans,” she says. “We change the nature of nature, take fish from the oceans on an industrial scale, and leave the oceans awash with plastics.” Despite this, Earle remains optimistic and calm—if vehement. “We have more knowledge about the oceans today than ever before. Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. Everyone makes choices in how you live life. Even doing nothing is a choice.” For Earle, the choices are clear. After all, the ocean is just as much part of our home planet as dry land. When asked whether she still dives, Earle cheekily replies, “Well, I’m still breathing!” The implication is clear. While most of us set off on a snorkelling expedition equipped with life jackets to make sure we didn’t sink beneath the waves,