Can science save our oceans?

BBC Inside Science

More than 2,000 marine scientists have come together at the One Ocean Science Congress in Nice, France. It is a gathering that will bring marine experts from all over the world together to share the latest discoveries about the health of our seas and oceans.

It is an issue at the centre of the world’s attention, because from 9th June, leaders and negotiators from 200 countries will arrive in Nice for the crucial United Nations Conference on the Oceans (UNOC3).

Presenter Victoria Gill is joined by Murray Roberts, Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Edinburgh to find out what is at stake when leaders come together to work out a global plan to save our oceans from multiple threats, including climate change, pollution and overfishing.

Professor Amanda Vincent from the University of British Columbia in Canada joins the Inside Science team to reveal her insights into the destruction caused by the controversial fishing practice of bottom trawling, which she explains is devastating marine life.

Victoria also joins a team of acoustic marine scientists on their research boat the “We Explore” off the coast of Nice to listen for whales and dolphins under the surface. Their sound recordings reveal how animals of different species eavesdrop on each other and how to stop boat noise from drowning out whale communication.

We also meet a team from a charity in Plymouth that is helping people who are living with poor mental health by prescribing ocean-based activities. Freyja Thomson-Alberts from the organisation the Ocean Conservation Trust explains why the ocean is central to our physical and mental wellbeing.

Presenter: Victoria Gill Producers: Dan Welsh, Clare Salisbury, Jonathan Blackwell Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth