Hong Kong is a boundless international hub for the trade in marine products such as shark fins, sea sponges and an array of tropical fish for consumption and for the ornamental fish trade. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 sharks are slaughtered annually for their fins. Many of our species of shark are becoming increasingly rare and according to new global statistics over eighty percent of our planets marine predators are now either close to extinction or highly endangered.
After filming in Hong Kong I traveled south to the tropical island of Bali, Indonesia, and after only two days on the island an earth quake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a warning of a possible Tsunami.
Not long after the Tsunami alert a Solar eclipse was announced one day before Nyepi, the Hindu New Year, this would be a day of silence when visitors would be confined to their hotel rooms and locals would not be allowed to leave their houses. It was an experience that enabled me to become closer to the cultures I was immured in.
After two weeks of visiting the trawler port, I learnt about under aged ship workers and possible forced crew labourers from countries such as Myanmar and the Philippines. I also spent a week filming and photographing local fishing boats at work and various fish markets selling their hugely diverse catches.
From Bali I flew one thousand kilometres east to an island that lay not far from Timor, this would be the beautiful island of Alor. Here I was to dive on pristine coral reefs teaming in rich biodiverse corals and fish life.
Alor local fishing communities are of great interest as their rich bio diverse seas attest to their sustainable fishing methods. These shoreline volcanic island communities take what is required in order to sustain their villages.
