BLUE PLANET
yellowfin tuna and spinner dolphins . “ The big surprise was that mobula rays also join the feeding frenzy ,” says Sarah .
Green Seas
An exploration of kelp forests , prairies of sea grass , gardens of seaweed and mangrove communities . This is an important area to cover , as about half of the planet ’ s total atmospheric oxygen is produced by ocean phytoplankton ; the sea ’ s plant life is essential to large communities of animals . You see octopus trying to escape from pyjama sharks in kelp forests , while in tropical seagrass tiger sharks play a game of cat and mouse with green turtles . One of the most impressive scenes features a spawning aggregation of 10kg giant cuttlefish , the biggest of their species , off South Australia . The sequence decodes
the complex colour language used by the female cuttlefish to signify their willingness to mate .
Coasts
This episode tells the story of how wildlife survives in the ever changing world where water meets land . It shows a puffin making a 60-mile flight with one precious beak full of food for its pufflings , only to run the gauntlet of aggressive skuas as it nears land . Meanwhile in the Galapagos , the team film the efforts of sea lions attempting to catch 60kg tuna – the sea lions cannot catch them by speed alone so they work as a team , herding the great fish into the shallows to be trapped and devoured . In a more intimate setting , the crew filmed a tiny fish that bridges the two worlds , the Pacific leaping blenny , in Guam .
Our Blue Planet
In the final episode , Sir David Attenborough examines the impact of human life on life in the oceans . At the premiere , he highlighted some of the scenes from this episode when asked about the health of the oceans , using the example of albatross parents unwittingly feeding their chicks plastic because their feeding grounds are so polluted . Sir David also examines the phenomenon of manmade noise drowning out the natural sounds animals use to communicate and navigate in the sea , sometimes with tragic consequences . But there are also stories of hope , notably the resurgence of herring stocks in Norway . Today , the recovered herring form the basis of one of the greatest spectacles in the ocean as hundreds of humpback whales and orca gather for the feast .
PHOTO ©: RACHEL BUTLER
Above : The fangtooth has the largest teeth relative to body size of any fish
Top right : A Galapagos sealion attacking a tuna
Above right : A scientist uses a hydrophone to record the sounds of the reef
PHOTO ©: ESPEN REKDAL
PHOTO ©: ROGER MUNNS
Blue Planet II at BSAC Conference
Blue Planet producers Rachel Butler and John Ruthven have been lined up as speakers at the BSAC Diving Conference , to run alongside the Dive Show . They will speak about their experiences filming the series , explaining the work that went into capturing some of the sequences described in this feature .
Open to all members , the conference will take place on Saturday , 21 October at The Vox , NEC , Birmingham and promises a packed programme , including an impressive list of guest speakers . It is being hosted by another Blue Planet II producer and BSAC member , Sarah Conner .
Conference tickets are available at £ 27.50 . For more information and to purchase tickets , go to www . bsac . com / conference2017
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