The money shot: a baby Banggai cardinalfish emerges from its egg, peering out from the safety of its brooding mother
enthralled by the underwater world since childhood. She is also passionate about engaging wider audiences in the need to protect our marine environment.
“ I am a self-proclaimed water baby!” Mae says.“ I’ ve been incredibly lucky to see magic in nature, especially in the ocean and feel a need to protect it. If we can share that feeling with others through these documentaries, hopefully we can keep nature and wildlife in the spotlight.”
Mae was tasked with sourcing unique stories of parenting in the marine environment for the Ocean episode and during her intensive research, she discovered the fascinating Banggai cardinalfish.
“ Many critters in the sea do minimal parenting, as it’ s a difficult environment to hold onto your child! However, I knew that mouthbrooding would be an interesting topic to explore- it’ s when a female deposits her eggs into the father’ s mouth for safekeeping. It’ s visually impressive to see- a little fish, mouth agape, and filled with eggs.
Bagging the Banggai
“ I discovered that the Banggai cardinalfish not only mouth brood but are one of the very few fish to hold their eggs in their mouths until they hatch and then keep the wriggling fry there for a few more days until spitting them out somewhere safe. It was screaming to be filmed!”
With her idea given the green light, Mae was tasked with leading the shoot, her first time as director. This involved a 72-hour journey for the team by plane and sea to the Banggai archipelago in
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