Brian Skerry reveals ocean's glory -- and horror

譯者: Yi-Hsien Cheng 審譯者: Lin Su-Wei(林書暐)

I would like to share with you this morning

今天早晨我想要與各位分享

some stories about the ocean

一些關於海洋的故事

through my work as a still photographer

透過我身為一名靜態攝影師的工作

for National Geographic magazine.

為國家地理雜誌拍攝照片

I guess I became an underwater photographer

我想我會成為一名海面下的攝影師

and a photojournalist

以及一位攝影記者

because I fell in love with the sea as a child.

是因為當我還是個小男孩時我就愛上了大海

And I wanted to tell stories

而我想要告訴大家

about all the amazing things I was seeing underwater,

在海面下所見到的那些驚奇的故事

incredible wildlife and interesting behaviors.

令人感到震撼的生命以及牠們有趣的行為

And after even 30 years of doing this,

即使在從事三十年這樣的職業

after 30 years of exploring the ocean,

以及探索海洋超過三十年的時間

I never cease to be amazed

在大海中所遭遇的各種事物

at the extraordinary encounters that I have while I'm at sea.

永遠能為我帶來驚奇

But more and more frequently these days

然而這些日子，當我越加頻繁地接觸時

I'm seeing terrible things underwater as well,

我也發現了海面下那些令人感到恐懼的事情

things that I don't think most people realize.

一些我認為多數人都不了解的事

And I've been compelled to turn my camera towards these issues

因此我將照相機鎖定這些議題

to tell a more complete story.

來告訴大家一個更完整的故事

I want people to see what's happening underwater,

我想要人們看見海面下發生的事

both the horror and the magic.

包括恐怖的、不可思議的

The first story that I did for National Geographic,

第一個故事是我為國家地理雜誌所拍攝

where I recognized the ability to include

在那裡我體認到自己有能力

environmental issues within a natural history coverage,

可以在自然歷史的封面故事下加入環境議題

was a story I proposed on harp seals.

我拍攝的對象是海豹

The story I wanted to do initially

而現在我想拍攝的故事，原本

was just a small focus to look at the few weeks each year

只是個小焦點，一年拍攝幾個星期而已

where these animals migrate down from the Canadian arctic

這段期間，海豹由加拿大極地遷徙而下

to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada

至加拿大聖羅倫斯海灣

to engage in courtship, mating and to have their pups.

致力於求偶、交配以及產下牠們的小海豹

And all of this is played out against

所有的這一切生物行為

the backdrop of transient pack ice

皆在以風及潮汐為漂泊動力的

that moves with wind and tide.

冰層上面進行

And because I'm an underwater photographer,

因為我是一名海面下的攝影師

I wanted to do this story from both above and below,

我想要從海面上及海面下取材來拍攝這個故事

to make pictures like this that show one of these little pups

如同照片中這些小海豹的其中一隻

making its very first swim in the icy 29-degree water.

正在華氏29度的冰冷海水中，進行牠第一次的游泳 (攝氏-1.7度)

But as I got more involved in the story,

但是當我更深入這個主題

I realized that there were two big environmental issues I couldn't ignore.

我瞭解到有兩個重大的環境議題是我不能忽視的

The first was that these animals continue to be hunted,

第一個是這些動物持續地被獵殺

killed with hakapiks at about eight, 15 days old.

在大約八到十五天時被棘棒殺死

It actually is the largest marine mammal

這實際上也是在這星球上最大的

slaughter on the planet,

海洋哺乳類動物大屠殺

with hundreds of thousands of these seals being killed every year.

每年都有成千上萬的海豹被屠殺

But as disturbing as that is,

但是更令人感到不安的是

I think the bigger problem for harp seals

我認為對加拿大海豹所遭遇最大的問題是

is the loss of sea ice due to global warming.

由於全球暖化，海面上的冰層正逐年減少

This is an aerial picture that I made that shows

這是一張我所拍攝的航空照片

the Gulf of St. Lawrence during harp seal season.

照片為在海豹繁殖季節時聖羅倫斯海灣的冰層

And even though we see a lot of ice in this picture,

雖然我們在這張照片中看到了很多的冰層

there's a lot of water as well, which wasn't there historically.

然而冰層與冰層間也夾雜著很多海水，這些海水在歷史上是不曾存在的

And the ice that is there is quite thin.

而且照片中的冰層非常薄

The problem is that these pups need a stable platform of solid ice

問題是小海豹們需要一穩定的固體冰面

in order to nurse from their moms.

來從母海豹那得到哺育

They only need 12 days from the moment they're born until they're on their own.

從牠們出生到可以自己生活，只需要十二天的時間

But if they don't get 12 days,

但如果小海豹沒有得到這12天的時間

they can fall into the ocean and die.

牠們會跌入海洋而死亡

This is a photo that I made showing

這是一張我拍攝的照片

one of these pups that's only about five or seven days old --

其中一隻小海豹年僅約5或7天

still has a little bit of the umbilical cord on its belly --

肚子上仍有一些臍帶的痕跡

that has fallen in because of the thin ice,

因為冰層太薄而跌入海洋中

and the mother is frantically trying to push it up to breathe

小海豹的母親極盡所能地想要將小海豹推至海面上呼吸

and to get it back to stable purchase.

讓牠能回到穩固的冰面上

This problem has continued to grow each year since I was there.

從我在那拍攝照片開始，這個問題一年比一年嚴重

I read that last year the pup mortality rate

我閱讀了小海豹過去一年的死亡率報告

was 100 percent in parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

在部分聖羅倫斯海灣區域，小海豹的死亡率為百分之百

So, clearly, this species has a lot of problems going forward.

因此，很明顯地，這個物種面臨許多問題

This ended up becoming a cover story at National Geographic.

這張照片最後也成為了國家地理雜誌的封面報導

And it received quite a bit of attention.

受到了眾多關注

And with that, I saw the potential to begin

藉由這則報導，我看到了開始

doing other stories about ocean problems.

拍攝其他與海洋問題相關報導的可能性

So I proposed a story on the global fish crisis,

因此我拍攝了一則以全球魚類危機為主題的報導

in part because I had personally witnessed

部分原因是因為親眼所見

a lot of degradation in the ocean over the last 30 years,

過去的三十年中，這類問題在海洋中的惡化過程

but also because I read a scientific paper

但也是因為我讀到了一篇科學文獻

that stated that 90 percent of the big fish in the ocean

指出有90%在海洋中的大型魚類

have disappeared in the last 50 or 60 years.

在過去的50或60年間已然消失無蹤

These are the tuna, the billfish and the sharks.

這些是鮪魚、梭魚以及鯊魚

When I read that, I was blown away by those numbers.

當我讀到這裡時，我被那些數字震懾住了

I thought this was going to be headline news in every media outlet,

我想這項研究應該會成為各個媒體出口的頭條新聞了吧

but it really wasn't, so I wanted to do a story

但實際上卻沒有，因此我想要報導這個故事

that was a very different kind of underwater story.

一個不同於一般海底主題的報導

I wanted it to be more like war photography,

我想要這主題成為更類似戰爭攝影的報導

where I was making harder-hitting pictures

其中我拍攝了一些難得一見、更為轟動的照片

that showed readers what was happening

以讓讀者清楚了解

to marine wildlife around the planet.

這個星球上海洋野生動物正遭遇的問題

The first component of the story that I thought was essential, however,

這篇報導我認為讀者必須了解的第一件事

was to give readers a sense of appreciation

是讀者必須對我們所食用的海洋生物

for the ocean animals that they were eating.

心存感激

You know, I think people go into a restaurant,

你知道嗎，我認為人們走進餐廳用餐

and somebody orders a steak, and we all know where steak comes from,

某人可能點了牛排，至少我們都知道牛排是從哪裡來

and somebody orders a chicken, and we know what a chicken is,

某人點了雞肉，而我們也都瞭解雞是怎樣的

but when they're eating bluefin sushi,

但當人們在吃黑鮪魚壽司時

do they have any sense of the magnificent animal that they're consuming?

是否了解他們所食用的生物是多麼宏偉而壯觀呢？

These are the lions and tigers of the sea.

這些偉大的生物是海中的獅子和老虎，是海中生物之王

In reality, these animals have no terrestrial counterpart;

事實上，這些生物在陸地上是沒有可以相對應的

they're unique in the world.

牠們在這世界上是獨一無二的

These are animals that can practically swim

照片中是那些實際上可由

from the equator to the poles

赤道游到北極的生物

and can crisscross entire oceans in the course of a year.

並且可以在一年之間來回穿越整個海洋的

If we weren't so efficient at catching them, because they grow their entire life,

如果不是人類大量的捕食，牠們是可以發展自己生活的

would have 30-year-old bluefin out there that weigh a ton.

就可能會有成長至30歲的黑鮪魚，並且重達一噸

But the truth is we're way too efficient at catching them,

事實是人類太過量的捕捉

and their stocks have collapsed worldwide.

導致黑鮪魚在世界上的存活量大跌

This is the daily auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market

這是在Tsukiji魚市場每日的拍賣情形

that I photographed a couple years ago.

照片拍攝於幾年前

And every single day these tuna, bluefin like this,

每一天這些黑鮪魚以及藍鰭魚

are stacked up like cordwood,

就像木材一樣被堆放在

just warehouse after warehouse.

一間又一間的倉庫

As I wandered around and made these pictures,

當我遊走在倉庫間拍攝這些照片時

it sort of occurred to me that the ocean's not a grocery store, you know.

我忽然覺得海洋並不是一個雜貨店

We can't keep taking without expecting

我們並不能夠

serious consequences as a result.

毫不顧慮後果地取用

I also, with the story, wanted to show readers

藉由這篇報導，我也想要告訴各位讀者

how fish are caught, some of the methods that are used to catch fish,

魚類是如何被各種方式所捕捉

like a bottom trawler, which is one of the most common methods in the world.

例如海底的漁船拖網，是最常見的捕魚方式之一

This was a small net that was being used in Mexico to catch shrimp,

這是一張墨西哥用來補抓蝦子的小網

but the way it works is essentially the same everywhere in the world.

但是它在世界各地的用法本質上都是一樣的

You have a large net in the middle

一張大網在中間

with two steel doors on either end.

兩端有兩道不銹鋼門

And as this assembly is towed through the water,

當此項配件在水裡進行拖曳

the doors meet resistance with the ocean,

門在海洋中遇到阻力

and it opens the mouth of the net,

網子則會因此而開啟

and they place floats at the top and a lead line on the bottom.

網子的頂端會放置浮標，底部則是一條鉛線

And this just drags over the bottom, in this case to catch shrimp.

透過這張網的鉛線在海底進行拖曳來捕蝦

But as you can imagine, it's catching everything else in its path as well.

但正如你所想像，網子在捕蝦的同時也網入了各式各樣的東西

And it's destroying that precious benthic community on the bottom,

並摧毀了海底珍貴的生物群落

things like sponges and corals,

例如海綿以及珊瑚

that critical habitat for other animals.

對那些海底生物而言即為十分重要的棲地

This photograph I made of the fisherman

這張照片是我拍攝一個漁夫

holding the shrimp that he caught after towing his nets for one hour.

握著撒網一小時所抓到的蝦子

So he had a handful of shrimp, maybe seven or eight shrimp,

照片中他拿著一把蝦子，可能有七或八隻蝦

and all those other animals on the deck of the boat are bycatch.

以及甲板上那些不小心被一起捕捉來的生物

These are animals that died in the process,

這些被一起捕捉來的生物正瀕臨死亡

but have no commercial value.

但是卻沒有任何商業價值

So this is the true cost of a shrimp dinner,

所以這才是那頓蝦子晚餐的真正花費

maybe seven or eight shrimp

裡頭可能只有七或八隻蝦

and 10 pounds of other animals that had to die in the process.

卻有十磅或更多的生物必須因為那些蝦子而瀕臨死亡

And to make that point even more visual, I swam under the shrimp boat

為了使這一點更加逼真，我游到了漁船的下方

and made this picture of the guy shoveling

並且拍到了這張漁夫

this bycatch into the sea as trash

正把捕捉到的如同垃圾的生物從船上鏟出

and photographed this cascade of death,

這張照片就是死掉的生物形成的小瀑布

you know, animals like guitarfish, bat rays,

你知道嗎，這些生物如犁頭鰩、蝙蝠魟

flounder, pufferfish, that only an hour before,

比目魚以及河豚，一小時前

were on the bottom of the ocean, alive,

在海底下還是活生生的

but now being thrown back as trash.

現在卻像垃圾一樣被丟回海底

I also wanted to focus on the shark fishing industry

我同時也想將焦點放在捕鯊業

because, currently on planet Earth,

因為目前在地球上

we're killing over 100 million sharks

我們每一年

every single year.

屠殺了超過一億隻的鯊魚

But before I went out to photograph this component,

但是當我想要拍攝這個部份時

I sort of wrestled with the notion of how do you make a picture of a dead shark

我忽然陷入將如何拍攝一隻死鯊魚

that will resonate with readers

才能引起讀者們迴響的沉思中

You know, I think there's still a lot of people out there who think

你知道嗎，我想仍然有一些人會認為

the only good shark is a dead shark.

一隻死掉的鯊魚才是一隻好鯊魚

But this one morning I jumped in and found this thresher

然而某一個早晨，我跳進水中，發現這隻

that had just recently died in the gill net.

剛死在刺網中的長尾鮫

And with its huge pectoral fins and eyes still very visible,

牠巨大的胸鰭以及眼睛尚清晰可見

it struck me as sort of a crucifixion, if you will.

如果你親眼所見，定會像是看到牠被釘十字架般的震驚

This ended up being the lead picture

這張照片最終成為了

in the global fishery story in National Geographic.

國家地理雜誌關於全球漁業報導的主要照片

And I hope that it helped readers to take notice

我希望能幫助讀者們注意到

of this problem of 100 million sharks.

這一億隻鯊魚艱難的處境

And because I love sharks -- I'm somewhat obsessed with sharks --

並且因為我熱愛鯊魚，為牠們著迷

I wanted to do another, more celebratory, story about sharks,

我也想為大家呈現較為令人喜悅的關於鯊魚的報導

as a way of talking about the need for shark conservation.

作為探討鯊魚保育的重要性

So I went to the Bahamas

因此我去了一趟巴哈馬群島

because there're very few places in the world

因為那裏是全球少數幾個

where sharks are doing well these days,

鯊魚保育做得很好的地方

but the Bahamas seem to be a place where stocks were reasonably healthy,

巴哈馬群島的鯊魚存量似乎保育良好

largely due to the fact that the government there

也許是因為政府

had outlawed longlining several years ago.

幾年前已明文規定捕獵鯊魚是不合法的

And I wanted to show several species

並且我想要為大家呈現一些

that we hadn't shown much in the magazine and worked in a number of locations.

雜誌上未展示太多的，我工作地點的照片

One of the locations was this place called Tiger Beach,

其中一個地點是一個叫做老虎灘的地方

in the northern Bahamas where tiger sharks

位於巴哈馬群島的北方

aggregate in shallow water.

在那裏有集結成群的老虎鯊

This is a low-altitude photograph that I made

這則是在低海拔地區所拍攝的照片

showing our dive boat with about a dozen of these big old tiger sharks

照片中為被這些年邁的大型老虎鯊所包圍的潛水艇

sort of just swimming around behind.

就好像牠們游在我們周遭以及後方一樣

But the one thing I definitely didn't want to do with this coverage

但是我絕對不希望這張封面照片

was to continue to portray sharks as something like monsters.

使鯊魚一直被描述成如同野獸一般

I didn't want them to be overly threatening or scary.

我不希望這些老虎鯊是極具威脅性及令人驚懼的

And with this photograph of a beautiful

這張照片是一隻美麗的

15-feet, probably 14-feet, I guess,

15呎長...也許14呎長的

female tiger shark,

母虎鯊

I sort of think I got to that goal,

就像覺得自己達成目的一般

where she was swimming with these little barjacks off her nose,

當牠在水中游曳時，有一些平線若鰺游過牠的鼻側

and my strobe created a shadow on her face.

我的閃光燈在牠臉上造成了一道陰影

And I think it's a gentler picture, a little less threatening,

我認為這是一張較為溫和的照片，也較不具威脅性

a little more respectful of the species.

對這個物種也有較多尊重

I also searched on this story

我也檢閱了一些關於

for the elusive great hammerhead,

這隻虛幻的大頭槌鯊的報導

an animal that really hadn't been photographed much

一隻直到在七或十年前

until maybe about seven or 10 years ago.

才開始有一些相關照片拍攝的生物

It's a very solitary creature.

槌頭鯊事實上是一隻非常神秘的生物

But this is an animal that's considered data deficient by science

無論是在佛羅里達或是巴哈馬群島

in both Florida and in the Bahamas.

科學上的數據皆十分缺乏

You know, we know almost nothing about them.

我們對牠們幾乎一無所知

We don't know where they migrate to or from,

我們不知道他們遷入或是遷出的地點

where they mate, where they have their pups,

也不知道牠們在哪交配，生下小槌頭鯊

and yet, hammerhead populations in the Atlantic

然而，在大西洋的槌頭鯊族群在過去的20至30年間

have declined about 80 percent in the last 20 to 30 years.

數量卻減少了大約百分之八十

You know, we're losing them faster than we can possibly find them.

你知道嗎，我們失去牠們的速度遠比我們能找到牠們的要快

This is the oceanic whitetip shark,

這是一隻白鰭鯊

an animal that is considered the fourth most dangerous species,

如果你留意相關的列表

if you pay attention to such lists.

白鰭鯊被認為是四種最危險的物種之一

But it's an animal that's about 98 percent in decline

在大多數牠們活動的範圍內

throughout most of its range.

其消逝率亦達98%

Because this is a pelagic animal and it lives out in the deeper water,

因為牠們是一種生活在遠洋及深海中的生物

and because we weren't working on the bottom,

並且因為我們不是在海底工作

I brought along a shark cage here,

我帶了一只鯊魚籠至海底

and my friend, shark biologist Wes Pratt is inside the cage.

而我的朋友，鯊魚生物學家，維斯-普瑞特則在籠子內

You'll see that the photographer, of course, was not inside the cage here,

你所看到的這張照片，攝影師當然沒有在籠內

so clearly the biologist is a little smarter than the photographer I guess.

我想很明顯地，我的朋友比攝影師要來得聰明一些

And lastly with this story,

在這則報導的最後

I also wanted to focus on baby sharks, shark nurseries.

我想要針對鯊魚寶寶的哺育進行報導

And I went to the island of Bimini, in the Bahamas,

因此我去到了巴哈馬群島中的Bimini島

to work with lemon shark pups.

與小檸檬鯊一起工作

This is a photo of a lemon shark pup,

這是一張小檸檬鯊的照片

and it shows these animals where they live for the first two to three years of their lives

顯示牠們在紅樹林保護區裡

in these protective mangroves.

度過一生中第一個二至三年

This is a very sort of un-shark-like photograph.

這是一張非常不同於一般鯊魚的照片

It's not what you typically might think of as a shark picture.

不是你所能想像到的鯊魚

But, you know, here we see a shark that's maybe 10 or 11 inches long

但是，你知道嗎，在這裡我們看到一隻可能有10或11吋長的鯊魚

swimming in about a foot of water.

游在只有一呎深的水中

But this is crucial habitat and it's where they spend the first two, three years of their lives,

然而這對鯊魚而言是非常重要的棲地，也是牠們出生後要待上二至三年的地方

until they're big enough to go out on the rest of the reef.

直到牠們成長至能夠游出暗礁外的其他地方生活為止

After I left Bimini, I actually learned

在我離開Bimini，我才知道

that this habitat was being bulldozed

這個棲地正被挖土機夷平

to create a new golf course and resort.

以打造一個全新的高爾夫球場以及度假勝地

And other recent stories have looked at

如果你願意，讓我們來看看一些最近其他的報導

single, flagship species, if you will,

關注於單一的旗艦物種

that are at risk in the ocean

在海洋中所面臨的風險

as a way of talking about other threats.

作為說明其他威脅的一種方式

One such story I did documented the leatherback sea turtle.

其中一則關於棱龜的記錄報導

This is the largest, widest-ranging,

這是所有海龜物種中最大、分布最廣的

deepest-diving and oldest of all turtle species.

棱龜也是所有海龜物種中活最久、可潛至最深者

Here we see a female crawling

這裡我們可以看到一雌性海龜正從月光下的

out of the ocean under moonlight

海洋中爬出

on the island of Trinidad.

至Trinidad的小島上

These are animals whose lineage dates back about 100 million years.

這些海龜的家世可追朔至1億年前

And there was a time in their lifespan

在牠們一生的壽命中

where they were coming out of the water to nest

海龜也曾經爬出海面築巢

and saw Tyrannosaurus rex running by.

看見雷克斯暴龍從眼前跑過

And today, they crawl out and see condominiums.

然而今日，牠們爬出海灘，映入眼前的卻是高樓大廈

But despite this amazing longevity,

儘管海龜的長壽令人驚奇

they're now considered critically endangered.

卻也瀕臨絕種

In the Pacific, where I made this photograph,

在太平洋，我拍攝這張照片的地點

their stocks have declined about 90 percent

牠們的存活量在過去的十五年中

in the last 15 years.

大約降低了90%

This is a photograph that shows a hatchling

這是一張拍攝正在孵化

about to taste saltwater for the very first time

準備品嘗生命中第一口海水的小海龜

beginning this long and perilous journey.

正要展開這漫長而冒險的旅程

Only one in a thousand

僅有一千分之一的

leatherback hatchlings will reach maturity.

棱皮龜孵化後會成熟

But that's due to natural predators

這是由於大自然的掠食者所致

like vultures that pick them off on a beach

如禿鷹會將其叼起丟至海灘上

or predatory fish that are waiting offshore.

或是魚類會在岸邊等候掠食

Nature has learned to compensate with that,

然而大自然會有其補償之道

and females have multiple clutches of eggs

例如雌性生物能夠一次產出很多蛋

to overcome those odds.

來克服那些不利的局面

But what they can't deal with is anthropogenic stresses,

然而牠們卻對人類的逼迫無能為力

human things, like this picture that shows

如這張照片所顯示

a leatherback caught at night in a gill net.

一隻棱龜在深夜被刺網所捕

I actually jumped in and photographed this,

實際上此時我是在漁夫的許可之下

and with the fisherman's permission,

跳入水中並且拍攝了這張照片

I cut the turtle out, and it was able to swim free.

我剪斷了網將海龜放出使牠可以重獲自由

But, you know, thousands of other leatherbacks each year

但是，你知道每年有數以千計的棱龜

are not so fortunate,

並非如此幸運嗎？

and the species' future is in great danger.

而那些物種的未來正面臨空前的危機

Another charismatic megafauna species that I worked with

另一我所拍攝的具有吸引力的大型物種

is the story I did on the right whale.

為露脊鯨

And essentially, the story is this with right whales,

基本上，關於露脊鯨的報導是這樣的

that about a million years ago, there was

大約在一百萬年前

one species of right whale on the planet,

有一種露脊鯨物種是生存在陸地上的

but as land masses moved around and oceans became isolated,

但是當大陸板塊移動，海洋被其分割

the species sort of separated,

露脊鯨的物種便被分開了

and today we have essentially two distinct stocks.

因此今日我們可以看到兩個不同的物種

We have the Southern right whale that we see here

這裡我們可以看到南方露脊鯨

and the North Atlantic right whale that we see here

以及北大西洋露脊鯨母子

with a mom and calf off the coast of Florida.

正從佛羅里達的海岸離開

Now, both species were hunted to the brink of extinction

現今兩種物種皆因捕鯨者之故

by the early whalers,

而瀕臨滅絕

but the Southern right whales have rebounded a lot better

但是南方露脊鯨之生態得以有一些回復

because they're located in places

因為牠們所處的區域

farther away from human activity.

離人類活動較遠

The North Atlantic right whale is listed as

北大西洋露脊鯨被列為

the most endangered species on the planet today

現今地球上瀕臨滅絕最嚴重的物種

because they are urban whales; they live along the east coast

因為牠們是都市鯨，沿著北美洲的

of North America, United States and Canada,

美國及加拿大東岸生活

and they have to deal with all these urban ills.

而牠們必須歷經一些都市所造成的問題

This photo shows an animal popping its head out at sunset off the coast of Florida.

這張照片為夕陽中海中生物，在離佛羅里達海岸不遠處探出頭來

You can see the coal burning plant in the background.

你可以看到作為背景正在燃燒煤炭的工廠

They have to deal with things like toxins and pharmaceuticals

這些鯨魚必須面對都市工廠排放、

that are flushed out into the ocean,

沖入海洋的毒素以及藥物

and maybe even affecting their reproduction.

這類毒素以及藥物更有可能進一步影響其繁殖

They also get entangled in fishing gear.

牠們也有可能被捲入漁具

This is a picture that shows the tail of a right whale.

這是一隻露脊鯨的尾巴

And those white markings are not natural markings.

尾巴上那些白色斑點並非與生俱來

These are entanglement scars.

而是由於被捲入漁具所造成的疤痕

72 percent of the population has such scars,

露脊鯨族群中約有72%的數量具有此疤痕

but most don't shed the gear, things like lobster traps and crab pots.

但是多數的生物卻無法從捕漁的工具逃脫，如龍蝦陷阱和捕蟹籠

They hold on to them, and it eventually kills them.

這些裝置緊緊纏住牠們，最後殺死牠們

And the other problem is they get hit by ships.

另一個問題則是海中的生物常遭漁船撞傷

And this was an animal that was struck by a ship

這張照片是在加拿大的Nova Scotia

in Nova Scotia, Canada

照片中的生物因被漁船撞擊而受了重傷

being towed in, where they did a necropsy

在拖回這隻動物後，他們進行驗屍

to confirm the cause of death,

來確定死因

which was indeed a ship strike.

而此死因確實是由漁船撞擊所致

So all of these ills are stacking up against these animals

因此這些弊端皆針對這些生物

and keeping their numbers very low.

導致這些生物的存活量非常少

And to draw a contrast with that beleaguered North Atlantic population,

為了與北大西洋被包圍的族群對比

I went to a new pristine population of Southern right whales

我找來了新的原始族群，南方露脊鯨作為比較

that had only been discovered about 10 years ago

南方露脊鯨大約在十年前

in the sub-Antarctic of New Zealand, a place called the Auckland Islands.

才在紐西蘭的南極區域，一個叫做奧克蘭島群的地方被發現

I went down there in the winter time.

我去到那邊時已是冬天

And these are animals that had never seen humans before,

這些南方露脊鯨從來沒有見過人類

and I was one of the first people they probably had ever seen.

而我可能是牠們第一個看見過的人類

And I got in the water with them,

我潛到水中與牠們在一起

and I was amazed at how curious they were.

我很訝異牠們對我是如此好奇

This photograph shows my assistant standing on the bottom at about 70 feet

這張照片是我的助理站在約70呎深的海底

and one of these amazingly beautiful, 45-foot,

這是一隻令人驚艷的鯨魚

70-ton whales,

45呎長，70噸重

like a city bus just swimming up, you know.

你知道的，當牠游過身旁時，就像一部巴士開過

They were in perfect condition,

牠們的狀態良好

very fat and healthy, robust, no entanglement scars,

很肥、很健康、很壯碩，沒有被捲入器具所留下的疤痕

the way they're supposed to look.

這才應該是露脊鯨本來的樣貌

You know, I read that the pilgrims, when they landed at Plymouth Rock

當我閱讀清教徒的歷史，他們在1620年於麻州

in Massachusetts in 1620,

的普利矛斯岩登陸

wrote that you could walk across Cape Cod Bay

文中寫到那時候人們可以騎在露脊鯨的背上

on the backs of right whales.

橫跨整個海德角海灣

And we can't go back and see that today,

我們無法回到當時，也無法在今日看到當時的情景

but maybe we can preserve what we have left.

但是我們或許可以保護現在我們還擁有的

And I wanted to close this program with a story of hope,

我想要在這篇關於海洋保育報導的最後

a story I did on marine reserves

賦予這則故事希望

as sort of a solution

並且作為對於過度漁獵，全球魚類危機

to the problem of overfishing, the global fish crisis story.

的解決辦法

I settled on working in the country of New Zealand

我在紐西蘭定居，並在那兒工作

because New Zealand was rather progressive,

因為紐西蘭較為先進

and is rather progressive in terms of protecting their ocean.

在對海洋的保育上也十分積極

And I really wanted this story to be about three things:

我希望這則報導與三件事有關

I wanted it to be about abundance,

我希望它是豐富、

about diversity and about resilience.

多樣性以及具有恢復性的

And one of the first places I worked

我第一個工作的地點

was a reserve called Goat Island

位在紐西蘭的Leigh

in Leigh of New Zealand.

一個叫做山羊島的保育地

What the scientists there told me was that

在那裏的科學家跟我說

when protected this first marine reserve in 1975,

當1975年第一次開始海洋保育時

they hoped and expected that certain things might happen.

他們希望並且期盼保育能夠有成效

For example, they hoped that certain species of fish

例如，他們希望特定的魚種

like the New Zealand snapper would return

如紐西蘭的真鯛能夠透過海洋保育而回到這片海洋中

because they had been fished to the brink of commercial extinction.

為了商業發展的需求，真鯛曾來到了絕種的邊緣

And they did come back. What they couldn't predict was that other things would happen.

如今牠們的確回到了紐西蘭海洋中。然而卻發生了保育學家們意料之外的事

For example, these fish

例如這些魚種

predate on sea urchins,

會掠食海膽

and when the fish were all gone,

當這些真鯛消失時

all anyone ever saw underwater

每個人所看見的海底

was just acres and acres of sea urchins.

皆充斥者海膽

But when the fish came back

但當魚群們回到海洋中

and began predating and controlling the urchin population,

並且開始掠食以及控制海膽的族群數量

low and behold, kelp forests emerged in shallow water.

慢慢的，淺水灘開始出現了大型藻類

And that's because the urchins eat kelp.

而由於海膽以海藻為食

So when the fish control the urchin population,

因此當魚群控制海膽族群數量時

the ocean was restored to its natural equilibrium.

海洋得以回復自身的平衡

You know, this is probably how the ocean looked here

你知道嗎，這或許是海洋一、兩百年前的樣貌

one or 200 years ago, but nobody was around to tell us.

但是沒有人可以告訴我們是怎麼一回事

I worked in other parts of New Zealand as well,

我也在紐西蘭的其他

in beautiful, fragile, protected areas

美麗的、脆弱的以及受到保護的區域工作

like in Fiordland, where this sea pen colony was found.

像是在Fiordland，則發現了海筆的群落

Little blue cod swimming in for a dash of color.

藍色的小鱈魚也在紐西蘭的北邊游曳

In the northern part of New Zealand,

增添一抹色彩

I dove in the blue water, where the water's a little warmer,

我潛在藍色的海水中，拍攝海底生物，那裏的海水稍微暖些

and photographed animals like this giant sting ray

照片中這隻大型的魟魚

swimming through an underwater canyon.

正游過海底的峽谷

Every part of the ecosystem in this place

在這個區域，生態系統中的每一個環節

seems very healthy,

看起來皆十分健康

from tiny, little animals like a nudibrank

從渺小的生物如海蛞蝓

crawling over encrusting sponge

由結殼海綿上爬過

or a leatherjacket

或是一隻剝皮魚(馬面單棘魨)

that is a very important animal in this ecosystem

這隻生物在生態系統中扮演著十分重要的角色

because it grazes on the bottom and allows new life to take hold.

因為當牠們浮掠過海底上方，並使新生命得以在此根生

And I wanted to finish with this photograph,

我希望以一張

a picture I made on a very stormy day in New Zealand

在紐西蘭的暴風雨天所拍攝的照片來完結這個主題

when I just laid on the bottom

當我躺在海底

amidst a school of fish swirling around me.

一群魚兒在我身邊游曳著

And I was in a place that had only been protected

我在一處大約20年前

about 20 years ago.

才受到保育的地方

And I talked to divers that had been diving there for many years,

當我與在這裡潛水多年的潛水者交談時

and they said that the marine life was better here today

他們告訴我今日的海洋生態與1960年代相較

than it was in the 1960s.

已經改善許多

And that's because it's been protected,

這全是由於這個區域受到保育之故

that it has come back.

使得海洋生態得以回復原貌

So I think the message is clear.

因此我認為我想要傳達的訊息已十分明確

The ocean is, indeed, resilient and tolerant to a point,

即海洋在某種程度上是可以容忍我們的捕獵、破壞，且具有回復力的

but we must be good custodians.

但是我們取之有道並且懂得節制

I became an underwater photographer

我會成為一名海面下的攝影師

because I fell in love with the sea,

是因為我愛上了這片海洋

and I make pictures of it today because I want to protect it,

我今日我在這裡為大家呈現我所拍攝的照片，是因為我想保護這個海洋

and I don't think it's too late.

而我並不認為這樣做太遲

Thank you very much.

非常謝謝你的聆聽