0:00:07 > 0:00:12The Indian Ocean, home to the world's most exotic islands...
0:00:14 > 0:00:16..and beautiful and rare wildlife.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23I'm travelling through 16 countries around the edge of this vast ocean
0:00:23 > 0:00:27that stretches 6,000 miles from Africa to Australia.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Steeped in history, the Indian Ocean is vital to world trade.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38It's a journey of extremes,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40from stunning islands,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43across pirate-infested seas,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45to remote villages...
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Salama.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51..and war-torn lands.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54- GUNSHOT - What was that?
0:01:04 > 0:01:08This is a journey about much more than just what's under the waves.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12It's about the lives of the millions of people...
0:01:13 > 0:01:17..who live around this, one of our greatest oceans.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24On this last leg of my journey, I'm travelling through Indonesia
0:01:24 > 0:01:28and down the coast towards my final destination in the southwest of Australia.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33In the beautiful waters off Bali,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35I help to harvest an ocean wonder crop.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Aaaaah!
0:01:39 > 0:01:41In Jakarta, I go undercover
0:01:41 > 0:01:45to learn more about the disturbing international trade in exotic pets.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49You are not happy, are you? Poor things.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52And in the remote wilderness of Western Australia,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55I have a close encounter with an ancient predator...
0:01:55 > 0:01:56God, look at those teeth!
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Cor!
0:01:58 > 0:02:02..before I reach the end of my entire Indian Ocean journey
0:02:02 > 0:02:04at spectacular Cape Leeuwin.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24I'm starting this final part of my Indian Ocean journey here
0:02:24 > 0:02:28at the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37This is Aceh, a beautiful region of Indonesia,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39which became known around the world
0:02:39 > 0:02:42because of one of the biggest natural disasters in modern history.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49On Boxing Day, 2004, a huge earthquake
0:02:49 > 0:02:53with the power of more than 20,000 atomic bombs
0:02:53 > 0:02:57shook the Indian Ocean and triggered a tsunami.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02A giant wave rolled in here and almost wiped this region off the map.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09The Indian Ocean tsunami hit the province of Aceh harder than anywhere else.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Almost 170,000 people lost their lives here.
0:03:13 > 0:03:18The power of the giant wave tossed boats and even huge ships miles inland.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Some have been left as poignant reminders of the day the wave struck.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27We're three miles inland here. Three miles.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30I can see the sea in the distance on the horizon
0:03:30 > 0:03:34and this ship carved its way through the houses
0:03:34 > 0:03:37on the way to its resting place here.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50But with the help of international aid, Aceh's been rebuilt.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55It's once again a thriving centre of trade.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Aceh juts out into the Indian Ocean, so, almost inevitably,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09this became a great trading centre.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Merchants would travel from across the seas
0:04:12 > 0:04:16to come here to buy spices, timber, ivory and gold.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19In exchange, those merchants brought their religion here.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23This is thought to be where Islam first got a foothold in Indonesia.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26It spread out from this island to the rest of the country
0:04:26 > 0:04:30and Indonesia is now the most populous Islamic nation on the planet.
0:04:31 > 0:04:38The vast majority of the 250 million people in Indonesia are Muslim.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43Aceh is one of the most conservative parts of the country
0:04:43 > 0:04:47and here they've introduced Islamic or sharia law.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52MAN ISSUES ORDERS
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Sharia law means all aspects of life are governed by an Islamic religious code.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14This religious police squad is known as the Vice and Virtue Patrol.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17So you're kindly going to allow us to come with you
0:05:17 > 0:05:18on patrol, that's very good of you.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28So, we're out on patrol with the squad. There's more vehicles following behind us.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Why do people call you the Vice and Virtue Squad?
0:05:34 > 0:05:37TRANSLATION: We want the Koran To become a positive force
0:05:37 > 0:05:39in people's lives.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42We want religious law to govern our country.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47So, where are we heading to first?
0:05:50 > 0:05:51We're patrolling an area
0:05:51 > 0:05:54where we often find unmarried couples cavorting.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00SIMON: The religious law in Aceh says
0:06:00 > 0:06:04that unmarried couples are not allowed out together without supervision,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and physical contact is out of the question.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13We're stopping already, not sure why.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15What's he doing?
0:06:17 > 0:06:21As we were driving along, he spotted couples down on the river bank here
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and he's leapt off to go and, er... well, catch them, I suppose.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27I think they saw him coming.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29So, there's a couple there who are racing off.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33TRANSLATION: Yes, when we're on patrol, and we spot people breaking the law,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36they just run from us, ashamed.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40So, do you suspect they would be an unmarried couple
0:06:40 > 0:06:43who were having some sort of saucy courtship, then?
0:06:43 > 0:06:48Look, there's more going away, they're racing off there on scooters.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51TRANSLATION: Theyy wouldn't bother running away if they were married
0:06:51 > 0:06:56or if they were brother and sister from the same family.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59But are they really doing something so wrong?
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Yes, according to Acehnese law, they are.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09SIMON: The Vice and Virtue Squad usually just issue youngsters with warnings.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13But for persistent breaches of religious law, the punishments can be severe.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15There, there, there! Hello!
0:07:18 > 0:07:22There are public canings in Aceh, and religious hardliners
0:07:22 > 0:07:25have called for adultery to be punished by death by stoning.
0:07:31 > 0:07:36They've raced in there. I presume that...they've spotted somebody doing something quite serious.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41So, look, this guy with the long hair, I think, is grassing...
0:07:41 > 0:07:43grassing up some teenagers.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54It looked like this young couple were in real trouble.
0:08:12 > 0:08:13This is very surreal.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Looks like they're leading them away.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22She's being taken away. Does she know what she did?
0:08:22 > 0:08:24What will happen to her? Where will you take her?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38Scores and scores of people have come to see
0:08:38 > 0:08:41this poor couple of kids being taken away. It's, er...
0:08:41 > 0:08:45pretty much a public humiliation for them, I think it's fair to say.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48And they're now being taken away to the religious police HQ.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53From my European perspective, it all seemed very odd and rather sad.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It just feels like in this corner of Indonesia...
0:08:58 > 0:09:02..people are being denied some of the basic delights of being
0:09:02 > 0:09:04a teenager and a young adult.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09The right to associate with who you want, the right to meet boys or meet girls.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21RELIGIOUS CHANTING
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- Take our life in our hands. You lead. - LAUGHS
0:09:34 > 0:09:38It was time for me to head on with my guide, Shinta Okta.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42- Hello, Shinta.- Hi, Simon.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47Shinta's going to be my guide across... well, across Indonesia.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51We're not going to visit every island because there are...
0:09:51 > 0:09:54How many islands in Indonesia?
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Almost 17,500.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- We must be accurate about this. - Yeah, yeah.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00No island should be missed.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04All right, but we're not going to be able to visit very many of them, because you were just telling me...
0:10:04 > 0:10:07How long would it take if you visited an island a day?
0:10:07 > 0:10:0848 years.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13We haven't got that long, but we'll see a bit of the country.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Shinta took me to the fish market in the region's capital, Banda Aceh.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I've tried to visit as many fish markets as I can around the Indian Ocean
0:10:30 > 0:10:34because they tell you so much about, not only life around the sea,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38but life in it as well - what's happening to life in it.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43The fishermen told me they now have to travel as far as the sea off Burma to fish
0:10:43 > 0:10:48because marine life in this part of the Indian Ocean has been severely depleted.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49Good God!
0:10:49 > 0:10:52He's bringing a ray in.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54They've got a shark here.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58I would have just seen this as a frightening fish
0:10:58 > 0:11:02when I started this journey. Now, seeing it here,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06it's like seeing a lion or a tiger on a slab -
0:11:06 > 0:11:08apex predator of the seas.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Still with its fins on, but not for long.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18Since the start of my Indian Ocean journey,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20I'd regularly seen local fishermen
0:11:20 > 0:11:24pulling sharks out of the ocean and slicing off their fins.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27Millions of sharks are taken from our seas every month,
0:11:27 > 0:11:31and Indonesia is the major global player in this tragic trade.
0:11:33 > 0:11:38Indonesia is the biggest shark-fishing and shark-finning country in the world.
0:11:38 > 0:11:44They're the central ingredient in shark fin soup - a Chinese/Asian delicacy.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49It's a fairly obscene trade, but...
0:11:49 > 0:11:54you try telling that to a poor Indonesian fisherman who's trying to feed his family.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06It's not just Indonesia's ocean wildlife that's under threat.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Ohh!
0:12:11 > 0:12:13- Good to go? - Yeah, ready, sir.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20On land too, these islands are home to endangered and beautiful animals,
0:12:20 > 0:12:23including tigers, rhinos and orang-utans.
0:12:26 > 0:12:31I left Banda Aceh and headed to the neighbouring Indonesian island of Java,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33the most heavily populated island on Earth,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36in search of one very special creature.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Java was once cloaked in a giant and almost impenetrable rainforest.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46But most of this habitat has been annihilated
0:12:46 > 0:12:48by the growing human population.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Forests have been destroyed in Indonesia faster than anywhere in the world.
0:12:55 > 0:12:56Look at that.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00We're on the edge of a village now,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04just a couple of hundred metres from where people are living,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09and of course, they chop the trees to give themselves somewhere to farm.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It's not actually that we are close to the village, it's that the village
0:13:12 > 0:13:14is too close to the forest.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16SIMON LAUGHS Yeah?
0:13:16 > 0:13:21So, I mean, like, this is a problem of the population here in Java.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26Karmele Sanchez is a Spanish veterinary scientist working for the charity
0:13:26 > 0:13:28International Animal Rescue.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32She was taking me high into a protected pocket of rainforest
0:13:32 > 0:13:35to see one of the rarest and most bizarre animals on the planet.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37I think I've sweated about a pint already.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Up here, Karmele and her team have built an enclosure,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52where they hang bait to tempt the mysterious animal
0:13:52 > 0:13:54down from the forest canopy.
0:14:02 > 0:14:03So, now we wait.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10As darkness fell, we switched our cameras to night vision.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23KARMELE: Yes, there... Now. You see? Now, now, now...
0:14:23 > 0:14:25You can see the eyes, yes.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35The Javan slow loris is among the 25 most endangered primates in the world.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39In just three generations, numbers have collapsed by a half.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43- He's coming down, he's coming down. - He's coming down?!
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Hello.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51He spreads his weight carefully, look.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56With this wind, look how he can balance his body.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00A nocturnal animal, the slow loris is a master tree climber.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Well, he's having a good scratch.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17You must get enormous satisfaction from seeing this.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21I mean, this is what it makes everything worth.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35For more than five years, Karmele and the team from International Animal Rescue
0:15:35 > 0:15:38have been working to protect slow lorises.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40She knows many of them by name.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43Our visitor was called Willis.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Willis - I think he's decided to come down the tree.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48You've got to see this.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Here he comes!
0:15:57 > 0:16:00While Willis scoffed his treat, the scientists caught him.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06The battery in his tracking collar needed replacing.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08Good lad.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12Then they did a few basic tests to check his health.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22That's a fantastic sign.
0:16:27 > 0:16:28Bye-bye, Willis.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Willis is headed back up into the trees.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43It was a real...privilege to see this because it is a remarkable success story.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Around the Indian Ocean,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49forests are being cleared for farming and chopped for timber.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54Animals are losing their habitat and their numbers are collapsing.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57But there's another huge threat to creatures like Willis -
0:16:57 > 0:17:00the illegal global trade in exotic pets.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03So, how many lorises have you actually got here?
0:17:03 > 0:17:05- 90. - Where have they all come from?
0:17:05 > 0:17:10They all come from the illegal wildlife trade.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12- All of them? - All of them, yeah.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18They often arrive here with horrific injuries.
0:17:18 > 0:17:19Look at this.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26This is a toothless loris.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28And the reason it doesn't have any teeth there
0:17:28 > 0:17:31is because somebody has cut its teeth out.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Mm-hm, you see. Bad trading.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41They're surely among the top ten cutest creatures on the planet.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45And therein lies their problem.
0:17:45 > 0:17:49They may look cute, but they're wild animals with a painful and venomous bite,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51unique among primates.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56So pet traders cruelly rip out their teeth with pliers before selling them on.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- Who's buying them?- It's normally people from middle class.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03They just see them in the markets, they think they are cute
0:18:03 > 0:18:05and they just buy them, they keep them as pets.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07- That's illegal, isn't it?- It is.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09How do they get away with it?
0:18:09 > 0:18:12The same as the animals... are not just traders,
0:18:12 > 0:18:17they are sometimes big mafias and networks of people,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20probably in quite high up positions, you know.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22It's a very profitable business.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26It's a business worth up to 10 billion a year globally.
0:18:26 > 0:18:32Wildlife trade is definitely one of the top illegal activities
0:18:32 > 0:18:34after drugs and arms.
0:18:37 > 0:18:4112 hours ago, we were up that mountain with Willis the loris.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Now we're down here with millions of people.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Shinta and I headed towards Jakarta,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58Indonesia's vast capital city,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01to find out more about this hugely damaging illegal trade in wildlife.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12This is the real Indonesia.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16I expected more seats.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21More than 30 million people live in the area around this city.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Most of them seem to be on our train.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Where the hell are they going?
0:19:29 > 0:19:32- To the roof. - They're going to the roof?
0:19:32 > 0:19:33Yeah.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36I'll sit on your bag and you stand the whole way.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39What a gentleman, Simon(!)
0:19:41 > 0:19:43HORN BLARES
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Vibrant and exciting.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52Jakarta's the centre of the booming Indonesian economy.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00But I'd heard about a pet market in the centre of town
0:20:00 > 0:20:03with a reputation for selling endangered species.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11It's an open street market, but I've been warned that violent criminal gangs control it
0:20:11 > 0:20:13and our TV cameras would not be welcome,
0:20:13 > 0:20:17so it was time to go undercover with hidden cameras.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18My God.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27The conditions they're being held in are totally inappropriate for any creature.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31You are not happy, are you?
0:20:31 > 0:20:32You poor things.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37Thousands of creatures are sold here and many of them
0:20:37 > 0:20:38are smuggled out of the country.
0:20:38 > 0:20:43Among the birds and domestic animals, we saw cages containing long-tailed macaques,
0:20:43 > 0:20:48leaf monkeys and even eagles in cramped, unhealthy conditions.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Within a few minutes, we'd spotted slow lorises.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54So, this is an endangered slow loris.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57It's rare, it's endangered...
0:20:59 > 0:21:01...and it's for sale by the side of the main road.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05500,000?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- So, that's less than £50.- Yes.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10£40.
0:21:10 > 0:21:15I was told that traders in the area can supply orang-utans and even tigers,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19creatures that are on the brink of extinction in parts of Indonesia.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28I think what's really amazing about that situation is those animals are for sale
0:21:28 > 0:21:32next to the main road in the centre of the capital city.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Why is the Indonesian government not doing something to stop it?
0:21:47 > 0:21:52It was time to leave Java and head towards the Indian Ocean paradise island of Bali.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02But I was bypassing the tourist resorts this area is famous for.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Instead, I took a boat
0:22:04 > 0:22:06to the tiny island of Nusa Lembongan.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12This place looks amazing.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18You can see there's a few huts here
0:22:18 > 0:22:23for tourists who make it over to this island from Bali,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27but the vast majority of the people here are involved not in tourism
0:22:27 > 0:22:30but in a rather different trade.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34I'd come to this far corner of the Indian Ocean
0:22:34 > 0:22:36to learn about an unlikely treasure of the seas,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40found everywhere, that could have huge implications for all of us,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43for how we eat, and for what we use to power our cars and vehicles.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Simon, this is Wyan.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Wyan? Simon. Very nice to meet you, sir.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Wyan Simon and his wife Evelu are farmers.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55But they don't plough the land or tend animals.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Hello. Simon.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59Hello! Do I get a handshake?
0:22:59 > 0:23:00LAUGHTER
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Do I get a handshake?
0:23:02 > 0:23:04Their crop comes out of the Indian Ocean.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19Wyan took Shinta and I out to see his farm in the sea.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24The water here is amazingly clear.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28It's like we're going over the top of a series of gardens.
0:23:41 > 0:23:49There's seaweed, tied onto bits of rope, attached to the sea bed!
0:23:49 > 0:23:51It's like an underwater allotment.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57Captain! What do we need to do? What work needs to be done that I can help with?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07SIMON LAUGHS
0:24:07 > 0:24:10- OK?- OK, let's go! I'll help. - OK!
0:24:10 > 0:24:12SHE LAUGHS
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Wyan and the other islanders here grow edible seaweed,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27and it's a pretty simple process.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Seaweed cuttings are tied onto a line of string.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33They grow by using sunlight for energy,
0:24:33 > 0:24:37and by absorbing nutrients from the sea as food.
0:24:43 > 0:24:47This doesn't need lots of land space to grow it,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51it doesn't need awful artificial fertilisers,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54it doesn't need lots of fresh water.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59It just grows in the sea.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Seaweed is amazing.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07THEY LAUGH
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Aaaaah!
0:25:11 > 0:25:13SHE LAUGHS
0:25:15 > 0:25:17Thank you, Simon.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22This seaweed is something of a wonder crop
0:25:22 > 0:25:24and many experts think we need to be eating a lot more of it
0:25:24 > 0:25:28because it's so easy to grow and it's a good source of vitamins,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30minerals and protein.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Perhaps most excitingly of all,
0:25:33 > 0:25:38scientists have now worked out how to convert seaweed into ethanol,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41which can be used as an alternative to petrol.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46It has...enormous potential.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54Seaweed could actually help us to resolve some of our most pressing global issues.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57You're already using seaweed extract
0:25:57 > 0:26:02in dozens of products ranging from ice cream to cheese,
0:26:02 > 0:26:04even in your toothpaste.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08The seaweed trade is already worth billions of pounds every year,
0:26:08 > 0:26:10but it's going to get a lot bigger.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13Wyan's seaweed is sold around the world
0:26:13 > 0:26:16to China, Hong Kong and as far afield as Denmark.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18It's a good business to be in.
0:26:20 > 0:26:24TRANSLATION: It's been brilliant since day one.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28Now we can pay for our children's clothes, we can eat. We're very happy.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Family's happy, missus is happy, children are being educated.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- Exactly! - Everybody's doing well out of it.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50People are making a great living, not from fishing,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53but from farming seaweed.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56Who'd have thought it, eh?
0:27:00 > 0:27:01Every day,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03the people of Nusa Lembongan give thanks
0:27:03 > 0:27:06for the prosperity the Indian Ocean brings them.
0:27:07 > 0:27:15This is such a fantastic little story to encounter on our journey.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26I've seen so much suffering and so many problems
0:27:26 > 0:27:29as we've been travelling around the Indian Ocean.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34We've visited so many communities that are just about clinging on,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36even as the fish stocks they rely on are being wiped out.
0:27:38 > 0:27:43I'm really delighted to have found at least one solution to the problems
0:27:43 > 0:27:45facing our oceans, and our world, here,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48in this little corner of paradise.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Feels appropriate, somehow.
0:27:51 > 0:27:52Whoa!
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Magnificent sight!
0:27:59 > 0:28:01The Indian Ocean rolling in.
0:28:10 > 0:28:16I left Indonesia behind and headed to the last country on my travels, Australia.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20My next stop was the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24I was 1,500 miles from the finishing line for my entire Indian Ocean journey.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31And I'd arrived somewhere completely spectacular.
0:28:31 > 0:28:35The Kimberley is more than three times the size of England
0:28:35 > 0:28:39and one of the last remaining true wilderness areas on our planet.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43That's where we're headed, down to that beautiful island.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49This archipelago is made up of thousands of Indian Ocean islands,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51most of them uninhabited.
0:28:58 > 0:29:04I'd come to meet a few of the rugged outback types hardy enough to work here.
0:29:04 > 0:29:06Bloody hell, Benno, what a place to work!
0:29:06 > 0:29:08Pretty amazing, isn't it, mate?
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Ben Little and his team are fish farmers.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16He told me their cages were packed
0:29:16 > 0:29:18with one of Australia's favourite fish, the barramundi -
0:29:18 > 0:29:22apparently up to 45,000 per cage.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25- There's one, certainly.- There's one. There's definitely more than that!
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Oh, I've seen two.
0:29:28 > 0:29:2945,000?
0:29:29 > 0:29:31- Yeah.- Where the hell are they?
0:29:31 > 0:29:34They're in there. When we get feeding, you'll see the fish come up.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37MECHANICAL WHIRRING
0:29:39 > 0:29:42He's firing the feed! I mean...
0:29:43 > 0:29:45Oi, oi!
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Mind the camera, sunshine!
0:29:47 > 0:29:48LAUGHTER
0:29:48 > 0:29:51- He's a cheeky bugger! - Yeah, he's deliberately doing that!
0:29:51 > 0:29:52These are targeted!
0:29:54 > 0:29:57They minimise the impact of their farm on this spectacular corner
0:29:57 > 0:30:01of the Indian Ocean by monitoring the amount of food pumped into the cages,
0:30:01 > 0:30:03reducing waste and pollution.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07So it's good for business and for the environment.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09We need Benno in here.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11You can see a turtle in the water Just here.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16- Coming up? Hello! - Keeping our ropes clean.
0:30:16 > 0:30:20- He's nibbling off all the algae.- One thing we don't have to worry about.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22- That's great!- Yeah, they love it.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26Fish farm and environment working in harmony.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32Ah, it's great to see.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36But some of the locals
0:30:36 > 0:30:37are not so welcome.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44The saltwater crocodile, or salty, is the largest croc in the world,
0:30:44 > 0:30:45and the most dangerous.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51- Just here, is that one there? - Yeah, these are small ones.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54- Probably, maybe seven foot. - A small one?
0:30:54 > 0:30:56Yeah.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59Often more than five metres long and weighing as much as a ton,
0:30:59 > 0:31:04these crocodiles are cunning, fearless and hunt almost anything that moves,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06including workers at the fish farm.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10At any given point in time, you can see them sitting on the collars of the cages,
0:31:10 > 0:31:11like, sitting on the edges.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13About two months ago,
0:31:13 > 0:31:17I think we had one break through a net while there was a diver in the water.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Needless to say, he got out of the water pretty quick!
0:31:20 > 0:31:24Yes, that's a pretty one-sided cage fight, isn't it?
0:31:24 > 0:31:27- Should I be standing a bit further back from the edge? - No, I think you'd be fine.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29What do you mean, you THINK?
0:31:29 > 0:31:31Well, no-one else has been done yet!
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Let's just move a little bit away.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36It kind of gets to the point where you step off a boat
0:31:36 > 0:31:38and you're a bit unsure of where to look.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40They tend to pop up out of nowhere and you're like,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43you know, "Where did you come from?"
0:31:43 > 0:31:45Definitely stalking us, for sure.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49Saltwater crocodiles were once hunted to near-extinction,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51but conservation efforts
0:31:51 > 0:31:54have led to a recovery in their numbers and around here,
0:31:54 > 0:31:58they've become a very real threat to the workers on the fish farm.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04So, they've called in the croc catcher.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09- Morning. Thank you. - Welcome to the Kimberley.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Thank you very much indeed. Marshall? Simon, nice to meet you.
0:32:12 > 0:32:13How are you going, mate?
0:32:13 > 0:32:15- Hello. Simon, nice to meet you. - Good to meet you, mate.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18Mark Jones and his mates have years of experience
0:32:18 > 0:32:20working with crocodiles in the Kimberley area.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23These are their essential supplies.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Just for breakfast, I imagine!
0:32:25 > 0:32:27I'm sure you're quite happy to share, aren't you?
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Well...
0:32:29 > 0:32:30SIMON LAUGHS
0:32:33 > 0:32:38In this camp, they haven't had any crocs walk into their camp...yet.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43But certainly in the other camps around the Kimberley, they are known to come in.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Is their concern justified?
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Well, there's been a lot of people killed by them
0:32:49 > 0:32:53and they are, as we say in Australia, as cunning as a toilet rat.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57Previously, they used to shoot the animals and indeed a licence was given here,
0:32:57 > 0:33:00but now, they're coming to us and saying,
0:33:00 > 0:33:04"Can you remove this animal?" and we do it in a way that saves the animal,
0:33:04 > 0:33:10looks after the people here and both animal and human can coexist.
0:33:10 > 0:33:14No matter how much many of us might fear them,
0:33:14 > 0:33:17crocodiles are a vital part of the ecosystem here
0:33:17 > 0:33:20and Mark works to control their numbers without harming them.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25So, this is our vessel for the evening.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28- Is it big enough? - So, this is luxury!
0:33:28 > 0:33:31- Flippin' heck! - LAUGHS
0:33:31 > 0:33:35I'd agreed to go out on a crocodile hunt at night
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and it seemed I was going to be in the thick of the action.
0:33:38 > 0:33:40You're right in the front, you're kneeling down,
0:33:40 > 0:33:42I'm over the top of you with the harpoon.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45You're near me with a weapon and I've got the light.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47So, I'm like the tethered goat.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Your last line of defence, if the crocodile was to come at you,
0:33:51 > 0:33:53is to throw the light down its mouth.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Brilliant. You can just stop laughing, mate, all right?
0:33:57 > 0:33:59It might work!
0:33:59 > 0:34:00LAUGHTER
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Anything above six foot is a dangerous animal,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06so yeah, we do have to have our wits about us.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15As the sun set and we switched our cameras to night vision,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18the mood became more serious.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20Can I have everyone's attention, please?
0:34:20 > 0:34:24When you find one, Simon, you must keep that spotlight on that animal's eyes.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28If you remove it from his eyes, he'll then take flight.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31We'll motor into the animal, heading straight into him.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34When we come up close to the animal, we'll cut the engine and we'll glide in,
0:34:34 > 0:34:38hit it in the back...in the neck, it doesn't hurt the animal at all.
0:34:38 > 0:34:39I'll have the lasso ready.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Once we've got that on and secured, he's ours.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50In the darkness, we began searching, hunting the hunters.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Good luck, everybody.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07THEY WHISPER
0:35:07 > 0:35:09- I don't want to fall in. - Don't fall in!
0:35:09 > 0:35:13- Don't fall in!- Rule number one!
0:35:13 > 0:35:14- There.- Oh, yeah.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16There it is.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20- Shh! Shh! Straight ahead. - Straight ahead. Straight ahead.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Mark and the team hunt the crocs by mesmerising them with a bright light.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28Then the plan was for us to drift in close enough to attach a line to it
0:35:28 > 0:35:29with a harpoon.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33We're getting quite close now, aren't we?
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Keep on him, Simon. Keep on him. Keep on him.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42Keep on him.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Keep on him, keep on him, keep on him.
0:35:45 > 0:35:47All right, back off, mate, if you can.
0:35:57 > 0:35:58All right.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01They can hear the water lapping on the edge of the boat.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03They're bloody clever, aren't they?
0:36:03 > 0:36:07They've been around people, so they're very cagey.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Let it go. Let go, let go, let go.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Other hand line. Get the other hand line.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53All right.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55- He's out front.- Here he is.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Just go with it, don't pull too hard. Don't pull too hard.
0:36:58 > 0:37:00SIGHS
0:37:03 > 0:37:05There he is, on the surface there.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08He doesn't seem overly concerned by the fact he's got a line in him.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12It can't be hurting him because he's not thrashing around or anything.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16The harpoon sits just under the tough skin on the back of the salty's neck,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19holding it firm, but not harming it.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22It's coming up, it's coming up, it's coming up.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24- Right here.- There he is, just there!
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Whoa!
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Now it's just a case of waiting till he gets tired.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32There is a croc at the end of this line.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36How big do you think he is, or she?
0:37:36 > 0:37:41Eight to eight and a half feet, just under three metres.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43What's the most stressful bit?
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- This bit. - This bit. It's the most dangerous.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55Steady, mate. Just watch the rope with that little death roll.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57I don't want to sound grotesque, but an animal this size,
0:37:57 > 0:38:00if it grabbed you by the hand and it death rolled you,
0:38:00 > 0:38:03it would quite easily roll your arm out of the shoulder socket.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06There's a lot of power in an animal this size.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09It's getting tired now.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11He's gone under.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14There we go. Here we go.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16At the ready, there.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22It's right in. Oh!
0:38:22 > 0:38:26- Hear that clap of the jaws?- I didn't just hear it, I bloody saw it.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28Careful, careful, careful, oh!
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Right, next rope!
0:38:30 > 0:38:31Quick!
0:38:36 > 0:38:38God, look at those teeth!
0:38:38 > 0:38:40God, it's ferocious!
0:38:49 > 0:38:52He's tying himself up, anyway. That's good.
0:38:52 > 0:38:56- He's done it for you, hasn't he? - Bring him up!
0:38:56 > 0:39:00We're going to pull it in with us. We need to clear the decks.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Yep, deck is pretty clear.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05- Right, guys. I'm going to bring him up and over.- I'll hold the torch.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08I need the cameras back just a little bit. One, two, three.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Up and over!
0:39:10 > 0:39:12Right, one, two, three, go!
0:39:13 > 0:39:16On his back!
0:39:19 > 0:39:21Good God!
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Put a little bit of weight on.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Bloody hell! You just pulled a bloody crocodile into the boat!
0:39:29 > 0:39:33It feels like we are gnats on this creature's backside.
0:39:33 > 0:39:35You can feel the power within it.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37This is like touching Godzilla.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40It's completely freaky.
0:39:40 > 0:39:41What a beast!
0:39:41 > 0:39:43- Good on you too, Simon. - Thanks, mate.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46- Pretty good job for your first time, mate!- Thank you.
0:39:46 > 0:39:50Mark Jones runs a renowned wildlife sanctuary down the coast
0:39:50 > 0:39:52called the Broome Crocodile Park.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56The croc will be transferred there, where it could live without posing a risk to humans.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58We're going to get Simon to sex the animal.
0:39:58 > 0:39:59- OK. - LAUGHS
0:39:59 > 0:40:02What we're going to do, Simon, is we're going to roll him over
0:40:02 > 0:40:05and expose this animal's vent, or cloaca...
0:40:05 > 0:40:07- OK. Right. - ..so we can sex it. Right.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10If we just expose the belly there, you'll see this vent.
0:40:10 > 0:40:11- Can you see it? - Yeah, I see the vent.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14OK, grab two of your fingers...
0:40:14 > 0:40:15Oh, you're joking me.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16..and finger it.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Can you feel a rod or is it just an open cavity?
0:40:19 > 0:40:22No, I can feel something poking from the right.
0:40:22 > 0:40:23Let me have a go.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28Yep, that's a boy.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30- Sorry about that, buddy. - Yeah, erm...
0:40:30 > 0:40:32don't hold it against us.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36So, this croc is now going to go on a little journey to your sanctuary?
0:40:36 > 0:40:38That's right, where he'll live and reproduce.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Have a happy life.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Thanks for letting us come out with you and see this.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45It's been a fairly awesome experience.
0:40:45 > 0:40:46The pleasure's been all ours.
0:40:46 > 0:40:51- What happens now? - We go home and we have a beer!
0:40:56 > 0:41:00Mark Jones is much more than some modern-day "Crocodile" Dundee.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03He's a world expert in crocodile conservation
0:41:03 > 0:41:07and a leading light in the campaign to preserve the great wilderness that is the Kimberley.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14Back on the mainland, Mark wanted to show me more
0:41:14 > 0:41:17of what makes the Kimberley so extraordinary.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19It's easy to forget the size of Australia.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23The state of Western Australia on its own is vast.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27If it were a country in its own right, it would be one of the ten biggest in the world.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30It's 11 times larger than Britain.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38I'd seen some amazing and remote places on my long journey
0:41:38 > 0:41:41but the Kimberley has the most pristine coastline
0:41:41 > 0:41:43in the entire Indian Ocean.
0:41:55 > 0:41:57What a view!
0:41:57 > 0:41:58LAUGHS
0:42:01 > 0:42:03What a place!
0:42:05 > 0:42:10This place is absolutely spectacular and completely pristine.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16If you sat here all day, you'll see 200 or 300 whales come through with their calves.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19We see manta rays regularly coming through here.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23It's beautiful.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28But, like many other areas of Australia,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32the Kimberley sits on vast reserves of natural energy and mineral resources,
0:42:32 > 0:42:37and giant multinational corporations are desperate to start digging them out.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40What's being proposed for this stretch of coastline?
0:42:40 > 0:42:45The big plan is to actually turn this into a major industrial plant.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49The first thing will be a gas plant, but as the gas comes in here,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52it can then drive the turbines of all the other industries
0:42:52 > 0:42:54and it will grow very quickly.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58And we know this because we've seen it in other parts of Australia.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01600 kilometres down the road we have Port Hedland,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05which is going to be the largest port in the world in 20 years' time,
0:43:05 > 0:43:07bigger than Shanghai.
0:43:07 > 0:43:08This will be bigger again.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12Wouldn't most Australians say, "We want to be rich,
0:43:12 > 0:43:16"we want to sell off our resources, it's our right"?
0:43:16 > 0:43:19At what cost? China's certainly going to be better off for it,
0:43:19 > 0:43:21India are going to be better off for it.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24In this country, in 100 years' time, because of its short-sightedness,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26we'll be left with a great big hole in the ground
0:43:26 > 0:43:28and everybody scratching their heads,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30hearing the old stories about these wilderness areas
0:43:30 > 0:43:32and not seeing them any more.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35This will be completely destroyed
0:43:35 > 0:43:39and you will never, ever be able to bring it back. That's it.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Dozens of enormous industrial projects are now planned for the Kimberley.
0:43:45 > 0:43:51It seems the insatiable global demand for energy and raw materials knows no limits.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55The result here in Australia could be the ruining of a wilderness
0:43:55 > 0:43:56of planetary importance.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04It's not difficult to see what might lie in wait for the Kimberley.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08A few hundred miles down the coast is the Pilbara,
0:44:08 > 0:44:11a centre of Australia's amazing resource boom.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14This country is making vast sums
0:44:14 > 0:44:17from selling off its iron ore, gas and natural wealth.
0:44:17 > 0:44:22But of course, it's a messy, destructive business, needing trains,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25vast mines, roads, huge ships and towns.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36These are some of the longest trains in the world.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42This is resources being shipped out, put on ships
0:44:42 > 0:44:47and sent off to fuel the economies of China and India
0:44:47 > 0:44:52and provide the rest of the world with consumer goods.
0:44:53 > 0:44:58Here in the Pilbara region, huge mines have opened up
0:44:58 > 0:45:01and the place is being industrialised.
0:45:03 > 0:45:04HORN HONKS
0:45:07 > 0:45:12They've taken wilderness and they've stripped it of all of its resources,
0:45:12 > 0:45:16and people don't want that to happen in the Kimberley as well.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Oh, my God!
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Look at this!
0:45:27 > 0:45:29Ooh!
0:45:35 > 0:45:38The scale of this is quite something, eh?
0:45:41 > 0:45:46This is just a tiddler compared to what they're planning in the Kimberley,
0:45:46 > 0:45:52and the gas plant they're planning there is just one of dozens of industrial projects
0:45:52 > 0:45:56that are being proposed for that currently pristine region.
0:45:59 > 0:46:02Using and selling off their natural resources
0:46:02 > 0:46:07has brought great prosperity to Australians in recent years,
0:46:07 > 0:46:09but the environment pays a heavy price.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15It left me wondering how we can ask poor countries around the Indian Ocean
0:46:15 > 0:46:17to protect their wildlife and forests
0:46:17 > 0:46:21when wealthy Australians are exploiting what they've got.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31I was on the home straight now, with the end almost in sight.
0:46:33 > 0:46:35I headed south towards the city of Perth
0:46:35 > 0:46:40and the finishing point for my entire journey at Cape Leeuwin.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44This is glorious, look at it!
0:46:44 > 0:46:50SAT-NAV: After 600 metres, cross the roundabout, second exit, then keep left.
0:46:50 > 0:46:52You have reached your destination.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Windows up, grab those sunnies and don't let the seagulls steal your chips!
0:46:56 > 0:46:58LAUGHS
0:46:58 > 0:47:01As I'd circled the Indian Ocean,
0:47:01 > 0:47:05I'd been privileged to see some incredible marine wildlife,
0:47:05 > 0:47:08from magnificent sharks to giant manta rays.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12But for me, one creature symbolises
0:47:12 > 0:47:17both the mystery and the majesty of life in our oceans, and finally,
0:47:17 > 0:47:20just offshore south of Perth, I was about to get close to it.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24There's at least half a dozen of them in the second wave!
0:47:28 > 0:47:33They're actually coming to us, to the wave of the boat. Look at this!
0:47:33 > 0:47:36They just cannot resist playing when a boat turns up
0:47:36 > 0:47:39and creates a big wave behind!
0:47:42 > 0:47:43LAUGHS
0:47:45 > 0:47:47These wild bottlenose dolphins
0:47:47 > 0:47:51are one of the most familiar creatures in the sea.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53Highly intelligent and friendly, they live in groups
0:47:53 > 0:47:56of between 6 and 60 animals, called pods.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02We've drawn a crowd.
0:48:02 > 0:48:03Let's go and say hello.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23Dolphins have been closely studied in captivity and we know that, in the wild,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25they enjoy human company.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29But despite their willingness to approach us,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32there's still so much we don't know about their life beneath the waves.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44That was so exciting, I actually forgot to come up to breathe!
0:48:44 > 0:48:46My lungs started to burst!
0:48:53 > 0:48:55We don't fully understand even friendly dolphins
0:48:55 > 0:49:00and we're a long way from understanding the rest of the mysterious marine environment.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06But one thing my journey had shown me, beyond all doubt,
0:49:06 > 0:49:11is that human impact on all our oceans is reaching a critical level.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Out there,
0:49:18 > 0:49:19it's a free-for-all.
0:49:22 > 0:49:29Nobody's really in charge and our seas are suffering from endless pollution and overfishing.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31It's a bit like the Wild West.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36So, before I reached the end of my epic journey,
0:49:36 > 0:49:41I arranged to meet a world-renowned expert whose research is helping to change our understanding
0:49:41 > 0:49:43of the Indian Ocean and our seas globally.
0:49:44 > 0:49:49For most people, when they look at the ocean, all they see is the surface
0:49:49 > 0:49:51and they have no idea how much lies beneath,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55so for us, our research is really about pulling that curtain back,
0:49:55 > 0:50:00that barrier, and allowing people to see and scientists to learn
0:50:00 > 0:50:02about all the special things that we have.
0:50:02 > 0:50:05- So, revealing the deep blue. - Indeed, indeed.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09Professor Jessica Meeuwig is the director of the Centre for Marine Futures
0:50:09 > 0:50:12at the University of Western Australia.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16Really looking forward to this. It's a real opportunity to peer into the depths.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19I get excited every time we go out because you never know what you're going to see.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25Jessica specialises in marine biodiversity and fisheries ecology.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30The Indian Ocean is the least studied of the world's oceans
0:50:30 > 0:50:36and also one of the most biodiverse, so it's really important that we get out there and understand it.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42One aspect of Jessica's research is using small, waterproof cameras
0:50:42 > 0:50:43to document life under the sea
0:50:43 > 0:50:46in areas of the Indian Ocean we know little about.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48We call it pulling back the blue curtain
0:50:48 > 0:50:51because that allows us to actually see below the surface of the ocean.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54By people being able to see beneath the surface,
0:50:54 > 0:50:57they can get excited, they can really enjoy it,
0:50:57 > 0:50:59they can value it, and if they value it, they'll protect it.
0:51:01 > 0:51:03This camera system means you're able to see
0:51:03 > 0:51:06- what is actually down there. - Out there, and count them.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09And because it's hard to sample fish, because they're in the ocean,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12we actually don't have that basic information.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20The camera's being lowered.
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Jessica films at depths of more than 500 metres
0:51:24 > 0:51:26to collect crucial research material.
0:51:26 > 0:51:30Her team have already recorded more than 5,000 hours of footage.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35This is footage from other cameras you've dropped down,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38right on the floor of the ocean.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41This is what gets me excited about being a scientist,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44when I get to actually watch these things unfolding before my eyes.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48So, it basically films on the sea bed for an hour
0:51:48 > 0:51:50and we take the videos back to our lab
0:51:50 > 0:51:53and we can figure out what species are out there,
0:51:53 > 0:51:56how many of them there are and, most importantly, how big they are,
0:51:56 > 0:51:59because one of the first signs of overfishing is when fish get smaller.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04I was finishing my Indian Ocean journey
0:52:04 > 0:52:07next to one of the most important areas of ocean on the planet.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12It's now clear the sea here has greater levels of biodiversity
0:52:12 > 0:52:14than even the Great Barrier Reef.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Almost every week, new species are being discovered.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20Most of them are found nowhere else on Earth,
0:52:20 > 0:52:24but less than 1% of the sea in this area is protected.
0:52:26 > 0:52:30Around the planet, we're witnessing a collapse of marine life.
0:52:30 > 0:52:34Two-thirds of the world's coral reefs are dead or at risk
0:52:34 > 0:52:39and it's estimated up to 90% of the world's large fish have been annihilated.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43If we don't change our behaviour, we'll be left with lifeless oceans.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45Something that's really amazed me on this journey
0:52:45 > 0:52:52is the almost cavalier way we are fishing the oceans to death.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56That's how it's been described to me by several people I've met.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Do you think that's a fair description, and how is this happening?
0:53:00 > 0:53:04Well, we're effectively emptying the oceans of fish.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06We've got industrial-scale fleets
0:53:06 > 0:53:11that have nets that are bigger than, you know, airplanes.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15We drag these heavy metal things across the sea bed,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18basically clear-felling everything in their way.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21Can you imagine if we dragged something like that through a forest,
0:53:21 > 0:53:23knocked down all the trees, took out all the birds and animals?
0:53:23 > 0:53:25That's what we're doing to the ocean.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27I mean, the fish have nowhere to hide.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32We need to allow our fish stocks to recover
0:53:32 > 0:53:34and that means implementing sanctuary zones
0:53:34 > 0:53:37or national parks in the ocean.
0:53:37 > 0:53:43We need some areas where the fish can be left alone to grow big, old and fat
0:53:43 > 0:53:45and produce lots of more fish.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Is that one of the key solutions, then?
0:53:48 > 0:53:51Absolutely, and Australia's actually at the forefront of this.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55It's developing a system of national parks around the entire continent
0:53:55 > 0:54:00and what's really critical in that is that it includes national parks
0:54:00 > 0:54:03where you can't go fishing and you can't drill for oil and gas.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09Protected marine parks where fishing is banned
0:54:09 > 0:54:11ensure that fish have a place to breed.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15And that means their numbers can recover from overfishing.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18It's an idea that has overwhelming public support.
0:54:18 > 0:54:2470% of West Australians want to see strong national parks in the ocean.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27Public opinion, at least here in Australia, wants it,
0:54:27 > 0:54:29but how do you persuade people off the...
0:54:29 > 0:54:31desperately poor people on the coast of Mozambique,
0:54:31 > 0:54:34or in Madagascar or off Bangladesh,
0:54:34 > 0:54:38to accept national parks when they're struggling to survive?
0:54:38 > 0:54:40Actually, in some countries, like the Philippines,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43they have been willing to put aside significant areas
0:54:43 > 0:54:47as sanctuary zones, where they don't fish,
0:54:47 > 0:54:51and they're seeing that the fish numbers are increasing and coming back and spilling over,
0:54:51 > 0:54:53so in poor countries,
0:54:53 > 0:54:55we've actually seen some of the biggest successes.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57That's quite... That's quite hopeful.
0:54:57 > 0:55:04If they can do it, there's no excuse why Australia, Britain, America, Europe, can't as well, surely?
0:55:04 > 0:55:05Absolutely.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08We're increasing our understanding all the time
0:55:08 > 0:55:10of how the marine environment works,
0:55:10 > 0:55:13so no, I'm totally optimistic, but we do have to act now.
0:55:16 > 0:55:21Now I hear it, the answer seems blindingly obvious.
0:55:21 > 0:55:28We have national parks on land, of course we should have them in the sea as well.
0:55:29 > 0:55:35They're not a silver bullet. It's not the single solution that's going to protect the seas,
0:55:35 > 0:55:39but it is part of the solution, it is part of the answer.
0:55:39 > 0:55:44We have got to protect life in our oceans, and national parks in the sea,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48or marine sanctuaries, are part of the solution.
0:55:50 > 0:55:51Here it comes!
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Yup.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57My journey had also convinced me
0:55:57 > 0:56:01that we need more global co-operation to police the high seas,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04the millions of square miles of international waters
0:56:04 > 0:56:08that are currently being fished relentlessly.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15The Indian Ocean is a spectacular region of our world.
0:56:16 > 0:56:20Hundreds of millions of people rely on it to survive.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Preserving and protecting it is vital for the future of us all.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40After months of travelling by land, air and sea,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43I was finally nearing the end of my journey.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49Cape Leeuwin is the point where Australians say the Indian Ocean ends.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53My goodness.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57That's the ending.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02I've got a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17Look! "Two Oceans Meet.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21"Cape Leeuwin marks the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean."
0:57:21 > 0:57:24Indian Ocean to the right, Southern Ocean to the left.
0:57:29 > 0:57:33This has been my most exotic and extreme adventure.
0:57:36 > 0:57:37And it ends just down here.
0:57:41 > 0:57:46I've gone from the horrors of the front line in Mogadishu in Somalia
0:57:46 > 0:57:50to the glory of the Maldives and the Seychelles.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53I've been to 16 countries.
0:57:53 > 0:57:57This journey has really taught me there's so much more to the Indian Ocean
0:57:57 > 0:58:00than just glorious, gorgeous holiday islands.
0:58:01 > 0:58:07It's a vast, tantalising, historical and absolutely vital part of the planet.
0:58:11 > 0:58:12This is it!
0:58:12 > 0:58:14This is the end.
0:58:14 > 0:58:16The end of my journey.