Photographing our Seas: Sharks After Dark
While many marine ecosystems are struggling, National Geographic photographer Thomas Peschak finds a healthy and breathtaking slice of beauty in the remote and shark-filled atoll of Bassas da India.
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Transcript
The next story that I proposed was, you know, photographing one
of the most pristine places in the Indian Ocean. It's this tiny atoll called
Bassas da India. This is all there is at high tide. That is it! And it's this
incredible place, it's in the cyclone belt and of course, since you can't see
it at high tide there are shipwrecks everywhere. And you know, the outer perimeter
creates this almost bathtub-like lagoon. And this is a nursery ground for
Galapagos Sharks. Sharks and healthy reefs kind of go together because the
sharks govern the ratio of reef fish of algae, of sea urchins and all those
things. So, sharks are critical for healthy coral reefs. And these reefs were
in incredible condition. They're curious. They are very, very curious. I've always
known Galapagos Sharks as being very, very night active. So, I also wanted to photograph
them at night and this is inside the lagoon on one of the coral reefs. And, one
of the most magical, you know, two hours of my life just watching these sharks,
like, you know, moths to a flame. They're just kind of swimming in and swimming
out. These images and this experience really just you know, gave me hope again
that even though we've impacted our oceans in so many places every time you get
sort of, despair overcomes you mother nature kinda taps you on your shoulder
and goes I'm still around, you just have to go there. And this is one of those
places, etched into my memory forever. Bassa da India in Europa Atoll.