Courtesy Sea Americas Team
A new documentary series led by an all-female expedition team aims to inspire people to connect with their local ocean ecosystems. “Sea Americas” will dive into the United States’ most threatened marine sanctuaries and how to protect them before it’s too late.
All of the filming destinations are in the Americas because the team wants to highlight the incredible experiences in people’s backyards, says marine biologist Alex Rose.
“Exploration doesn’t have to be somewhere far off,” she says. “You don’t have to go to Everest to be an explorer.”
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Rose is leading the documentary team with explorer and filmmaker Jennifer Idol, a native Texan who was the first woman to dive all 50 U.S. states.
When the pair met around 10 years ago, they wanted to inspire more people to visit their own waters. This was partly triggered by Idol’s experience of flying over the Gulf of Mexico after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
“There were flames everywhere,” Rose says. “That precipitated her wanting to do something that connects people with their local waters because, for her, Texas is her local water—the Gulf of Mexico is her backyard.”
They’ve since recruited a stellar team of female divers to join their mission: marine ecologist Alannah Vellacott, author Pier Nirandara, photographer Jennifer Hayes, technical diver Autumn Blum, cave diver Jill Heinerth, stuntwoman Liz Parkinson, freediver Mehgan Heaney-Grier, mermaid Linden Wolbert, underwater archaeologist Stephanie Gandulla, technical diver Khrista Jones, cave explorer Natalie Gibb, and author Drey (Andrea) Stockert.
Planning for the first season is well underway. The team will start shooting off the coast of Florida, where coral reefs are struggling in the wake of several marine heat waves, disease outbreaks and other environmental stressors.
Courtesy Jennifer IdolThe team plans to explore various locations across the world, including Hawaii, Canada and the Caribbean.
The team also hopes to visit Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico and to dive with ocean sunfish (Mola mola) in California.
“Mola mola are just so weird,” Rose says. “Especially people who are not divers are just blown away by the strangeness of this animal.”
Other destinations under consideration include Hawaii, Canada and shipwrecks in the Caribbean. At each destination, the team aims to show what’s really happening: both the dire reality of the threats to the regions and the glimmers of hope.
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“There’s so much hope in everywhere that we go,” Rose says, “even when there’s destruction.”
A key part of the show is shining a light on interesting science and conservation projects. “We’re the mouthpiece for what’s going on out there,” she says. “We want to be able to connect with scientists who are actively working in environments like these to make a difference and to make things better.”
Rose and Idol are currently in talks with broadcast and streaming networks.
Follow @seaamericas on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
