Blue Ocean TVPUK
Believe it or not, many scuba divers want to see great whites up close, and photographers want dramatic shots. But how do you get the sharks to where you want them? For decades, it's been done by baiting, or “chumming” – attracting sharks with food. This practice is being questioned and banned in many countries because of a dramatic increase in shark attacks.
Giants of San Benedicto features Dr. Robert Rubin and his ground-breaking research of giant Mantas. You'll travel to the remote Socorro Islands off Mexico's Pacific coast and see breath-taking encounters with enormous manta rays. You're sure to love these majestic giants as you see how they invite human contact, and encourage certain divers to ride them. The film crew also travels to the Bahamas to visit 'Bubbles', a fifteen foot Manta in the worlds largest aquarium.
Singing louder than any animal on earth, humpback whales are famous for their haunting songs and jaw-dropping acrobatics. They were hunted to the brink of extinction until a moratorium on killing them was implemented in the 1960s. But after finally rebounding in numbers, whaling nations are exploring ways to re-open the hunt. In Antarctica, Japan is targeting minke, fin, and now... humpbacks. The tiny island nation of Tonga in the remote South Pacific is a haven for the magnificent mammals.
Since the 1970's, sea lion populations have declined more than 80% along the North Pacific coast. Scientists at the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Aquarium are working together to help save Canada’s iconic and largest pinniped – the stellar sea lion. To help understand why their numbers are dropping, researchers work with the highly intelligent mammals at a unique floating laboratory.
Each year, hundreds of critically endangered manatees are killed in U.S. waters by boats, disease and cold weather. 2006 was the worst year on record for manatee deaths – 416 animals perished. With only a few thousand remaining in the wild, mostly in heavily developed Florida wetlands, the clock is ticking in efforts to save this amazing mammal from extinction.
Miracle Venom explores the strange, and often bizarre world of the oceans most venomous animals. Follow Dr. Glen Burns as he handles deadly Sea Snakes with only his bare hands. You'll be amazed at how a small Cone Snail hunts, paralyses and then eats it's prey alive. The waters of Papua New Guinea and Australia's Great Barrier Reef harbour an exceptional variety of venomous fish and invertebrates.The poisons of these animals are some of the most lethal known to man.
Around the globe, thousands of decommissioned naval vessels rot in dockyards. What can you do with these toxic time bombs? One solution is to clean them well, blow them up and sink them! Providing shelter and breeding grounds, countless fish and invertebrates colonize steel hulls.
Shark Business unravels some of the mysteries surrounding sharks with controversial behaviorist Dr. Erich Ritter. You'll witness divers testing the limits of shark-human interaction outside of cages with dangerous sharks such as lemon, bull and even great white sharks!
Sharks are BIG business in adrenaline eco-tourism. And some thrill seekers deliberately pursue close encounters with deadly sharks – without the protection of a cage. The bigger and more dangerous the shark, the better.
There's no doubt sharks have an image problem. And they're certainly in trouble globally. The population of some species has declined by more than 90% due to over fishing. But there's still one place in the world where sharks thrive – the Bahamas. Sharks not only prosper there, they are highly protected. It’s illegal to kill them.
Tentacles follows Dr. Jennifer Mather as she leads a team of renowned scientists to the beautiful Caribbean island of Bonaire. Their mission is to prove a controversial theory: reef squid speak to each other with a complex language they paint on their skin. The episode features the bizarre courtship and never-before-filmed egg-laying rituals of reef squid. Travel to the Pacific Northwest for an encounter with the world's largest Octopus.
They’re not whales at all, but by far the largest fish in the sea. Yet at nearly 50 feet in length and weighing 20 tons or more, they eat only the smallest marine animals. They are not a threat to humans, but their numbers are dramatically shrinking. Like elephants slaughtered for their ivory tusks, whale sharks are relentlessly pursued by poachers. From Africa to Asia, they are targeted for their meat and immense fins.
