The Heritage Heroes
Wednesday, June 4 at 11:10 PM on France 3 and on france.tv
The ocean is at the origin of all life on Earth; it is the very condition of our existence. With all its seas combined, the ocean is an essential heritage — yet it is in great danger. Pollution, overfishing, climate change — no sea is spared. Especially not the Mediterranean, which scientists say is the most polluted sea in the world.
Adrien Gavazzi takes you to Corsica to meet the ocean’s rescuers.
Adrien Gavazzi chose to go to Corsica, a place unlike any other where this paradox is painfully clear: a dream living environment on the one hand, but beaches overwhelmed by plastic waste, overheated waters, and often excessive tourism on the other.
At a time when the whole world is focusing on the future of the ocean in Nice, Adrien Gavazzi shines a light on those who, in Corsica and everywhere else, are determined to save it at all costs.
They are scientists, researchers, fishermen, and everyday citizens — all lovers of the sea.
Bonifacio, with its 3,200 year-round inhabitants, welcomes 25,000 visitors per day in summer. So many tourists is a boon for the local economy but a real threat to biodiversity. The Bonifacio Strait lies less than half an hour by boat, and at the heart of the reserve, the Lavezzi Islands, the jewel of southern Corsica. Jean-Michel Culioli, the site’s caretaker, watches over them as if they were the apple of his eye.
Adrien Gavazzi accompanies him on an inspection tour of the boats anchored offshore. Their fear? Anchors ripping up the Posidonia seagrass beds — a carbon sink even more important than the Amazon rainforest. “Every time it’s a disaster on a human scale. Posidonia grows by one centimeter per year. Do the math yourself — a lifetime is not enough to see it recover.”
A little further on, another person can only rejoice with each dive. Marie-Catherine Santoni works for the environmental agency, and part of her job is regularly counting fish in the Lavezzi integral reserve. Diving and fishing are forbidden there, so what she is about to show Adrien Gavazzi is the equivalent of a natural safe — one that keeps getting richer.
What is most remarkable, however, is the work Marie-Catherine has undertaken with coastal fishermen: defining fishing zones and raising awareness about the minimum sizes of fish caught. Here, it’s a win-win. “Around Corsica, we catch 650 tons of fish per year. As much as in the North Sea, but there it’s caught in a single day by factory boats! So naturally, that makes you think. And yet, we love fish here!”
On the water, under the water, Adrien’s journey ends on land with Sylvie, a Corsican by adoption who created Corsica Clean Nature five years ago. Her first cleanup happened on a whim: a beach south of Ajaccio, a call on social media, and soon she was joined by 80 brave volunteers to tackle pollution that is often invisible. Plastic, which when it reaches the sea pollutes the entire ecosystem, cigarette butts, metal, and glass… “It takes up to 800 years to make this heavy legacy disappear — a legacy humans are often unaware of.” For Sylvie, there is a moment of despair, then a smile returns, ready to go back into the fight!
Source: francetvpro
