Dolphins Up Close with Bertie Gregory (2025)

[bunniefuu]

-Go, go, go, go.

There's a massive

concentration of

shearwaters ahead of us,

and all the rest are

ripping in that direction.

Whoa they're crazy!

It's still moving pretty fast.

The predators haven't stabilized

the ball of crayfish yet.

So we've got

shearwaters, dolphins,

just seen a whale.

That is crazy!

-Okay, let's go.

Go, go, go, go.

Okay, go, go, go,

dive, dive, dive.

[upbeat music playing]

[Bertie] The Azores.

A remote chain of islands

over 900 miles west of Portugal.

Over the last 10 years,

I've become completely

obsessed with

searching the ocean

for epic gatherings

of predators.

In wildlife film,

we call these a bait ball,

and they attract a group

of predators that you'd never

otherwise see together.

All hunting the same

prey at the same time.

At the end of every summer,

a sudden expl*si*n

of food draws in ocean

predators from near and far.

Resident dolphins are

joined by migrating dolphins,

whales, and sharks.

This could be the

most diverse gathering

of predators I've ever filmed.

Yeah, we've not got

long to capture this

ocean spectacle because

many of the characters

involved are on big,

cross-ocean migrations,

and this is the

narrow window when all

of them converge on the Azores.

We've got just five weeks

before the seasons change,

and many of the dolphins and

other predators

start to move on.

You know, finding this

predator gathering out

here is gonna be really,

really tricky because we

have got a

massive area to search.

With over 100,000

square miles of protected

waters to explore,

we need local knowledge.

So I've teamed up with

a boat crew that know these

waters better than anyone.

Captain Paulo Gaspar was

born and raised in the Azores,

sailing and diving

here his entire life.

Second in command

is Marianna Antunes,

an experienced skipper

and marine biologist.

So we're obviously

searching a massive

area of ocean.

How are we gonna

find the action?

-You must look for shearwaters,

more shearwaters, more activity.

You only need to follow

the direction of them

and then you will

see a bait ball.

[Bertie] Cory's

shearwaters are experts

at hunting schools

of fish from above.

How many shearwaters

are we talking together?

-Two or 3,000 at the same

time and a lot of noise.

-If it's insane, the bait

ball it's waa, waa, waa, waa.

-Waa, waa, waa, yeah.

[Bertie] Right now, nearly

half a million shearwaters

are here for

the breeding season.

We don't have to wait

long before they provide

our first lead.

We've got a lot of

shearwaters all moving that way,

and that is a great

sign there's action.

I think we need to

get out in the fast boat.

Let's do this.

-Okay, got it.

Yep, yep, let's go.

-Got this big raft and I reckon,

but I thought they were

just sat on the surface resting,

but actually, you can

hear that squabbling noise

they're feeding.

Let me get my snorkeling gear

on and just gently drift over,

see what's going on

underneath the water.

Ali, can you chuck me

the camera once I'm in?

Thanks.

[squawking]

Underwater, I can see

what's on the menu.

Hundreds of jack mackerel

huddled together in a small,

dense, swirling sphere.

It's a bait ball.

Formed when fish

are under attack.

Skipjack tuna strike from below.

And shearwaters

attack from above.

It's impressive, but

I know these events happen

on a much bigger scale.

Those shearwaters,

they're so graceful underwater,

they look like angels

diving down into the deep.

And what we saw there,

that's a miniature version

of what we're looking for.

To find a giant bait ball,

we need to maximize

our time on the water.

So for the next five weeks,

this boat will be our

home and filming platform.

With me is friend and specialist

cinematographer, Jeff Hester.

Well, we're out nice and early.

Sun's just popped up

over the horizon behind

that beautiful volcano.

And we're scanning the

horizon 'cause first thing in

the morning and last thing in

the afternoon, early evening,

those are our prime

times for bait ba*ls.

Yeah, Paulo there's,

there's a big pod of dolphins

straight off the bow,

they're coming this way now.

-How many meters in front?

[Bertie] 200.

[Paulo] Okay.

[Bertie] Whoa.

Like the shearwaters,

dolphins are always on the

lookout for fish and could

lead us to a bait ball.

Whoa!

Got a huge group

of spotted dolphins.

This is a really good sign.

Yeah, any day you see,

a dolphin is a good day.

Each year, thousands of

dolphins migrate to the Azores,

drawn here by the seasonal

boom in fish numbers.

So right now, these

dolphins are cruising along,

and they'll be

pinging out echolocation.

That's their, their

sonar to detect prey.

So we're gonna

stick with the dolphins.

Hope they lead

us to some action.

[upbeat music playing]

That is really interesting,

every single

dolphin has disappeared.

They've all gone...

[makes sound]

down into the deep.

Which makes me think

they must have detected

prey down there

and they're trying to

round it up and bring

it up to the surface.

So we could be in

for some action here.

[crew] Okay, Jeff.

[Paulo] You ready?

[Bertie] We're ready.

[Paulo] Let's go.

[Bertie] As we

jump on the fast boat,

the dolphins resurface.

Look at them all.

Racing at speeds of

nearly 40 miles per hour.

Wha, h*, h*, h*.

It's clear they're in pursuit.

We've just got shearwaters

zooming around everywhere.

This is looking really good.

What we're waiting

for is the shearwaters

to all start diving

down into the water,

that means the food

is at the surface.

So it's a really good

concentration over here,

and all the others seem to

be heading over to join them.

These feeding frenzies can

vanish as quickly as they form.

We could be on here.

We need to get

into position, and fast.

Birds look good there, Paulo.

[Paulo] I see.

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay, let's go,

go, go, go, go, go.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bertie] The dolphins

work as a team,

vocalizing to

coordinate their attack.

Their aim is to trap

the school at the surface,

then force it

into a tight formation.

Thousands of jack mackerel

swim for their lives.

[suspenseful music playing]

It seems like the

dolphins are tiring.

They're struggling

to contain the fish.

The jack mackerel

win this round.

[Paulo] This side,

this side, this side.

[Bertie] It's

carnage everywhere.

It didn't quite come together.

We had a big pass

from all the fish,

but it didn't feel like

there was enough predators,

enough dolphins on it, so, uh.

Yeah, we've lost the light now,

and it seems like

the action's died down.

So, try again another day.

It's promising to see

the shearwaters and dolphins

hunting together, but

even in a wildlife haven

like the Azores,

nature is still unpredictable.

To find the predator

gathering we're looking for,

I need more eyes out searching.

So I'm heading inland,

where history provides

a surprising perspective.

[Bertie] The nutrient-rich

waters of the Azores draw

in a third of the world's

whale and dolphin species,

an abundance that in the

past had tragic consequences.

For centuries,

these islands were

an international

hub for whale hunting.

Animals were k*lled

to make oil for lamps,

candles, and cosmetics.

The meat was also

a local food supply.

It's pretty crazy to

learn that whale hunting

happened in the Azores

until the late 1980s,

and that ban is so recent

that it's actually possible

for me to go and meet

one of the ex-whalers,

and his job is

still to spot whales,

but for a very different reason.

Daniel.

-Good morning!

-Good morning!

Known locally as a "vigia,"

a person that keeps watch,

Daniel Martiniano,

used to spot whales for hunting.

He now spots them for

the islands' booming

whale watching industry.

[speaking in Portuguese]

[in Portuguese] Thank you.

Waa, crazy view.

-This is where I see the whales.

I'm looking for a blow.

And we have a whale there!

-Can I have a go?

[speaking in Portuguese]

[Bertie] If there's anyone

that can find us a whale

heading to a bait ball,

it's Daniel.

How far do you think you

could see a whale from here?

-If the weather is good,

then an average

is 12 miles, 12, 15.

-Since the ban on whaling,

what was that like for you and

the community, if, if it was

an important source of income?

-Whale watching is

better than hunting the whale.

Whale watching is more money.

I now earn more in a

month than a whole year,

now I'm whale watching.

-Wow, so you basically

realized that the whales

were worth more alive than dead?

-Of course.

-Yeah.

-Whales for me are my girls.

My girls.

[Bertie] Daniel's passion

for whales is obvious,

but it's conflicting,

knowing his talent is

rooted in his days as a hunter.

[speaking in Portuguese]

-Is that you?

A lifetime on, on the

ocean looking for whales?

They are incredibly big,

powerful animals.

What is it like to hunt them?

-A sperm whale

weighs more than 40 tons.

And a boat weighs a ton.

It was dangerous,

we had to be very careful.

-Wow.

-I have something to show you.

[Bertie] Okay.

It's clear the

cultural connections to

whale hunting run deep.

[speaking in Portuguese]

[Bertie] It's heartbreaking

to think every year,

hundreds of whales

lost their lives

to weapons just like this one.

-Very sharp.

[speaking in Portuguese]

-Glad it's now just a memory.

-No more.

-Some things have to end.

Daniel's journey

reflects this region's shift.

Thank you very much.

From hunting whales

to celebrating them.

It's inspiring to see

how communities can adapt

to big shifts in how we

treat the natural world.

Daniel and his fellow

'vigias' have agreed to

help by sharing

any sightings that might

lead us to a bait ball.

-Ok, how many are there?

-That's the vigia on the phone,

and I heard him

say "baleia, baleia."

My Portuguese is rubbish, but

I'm pretty sure that's "whale."

-Thank you.

Hey, Bertie.

- What have we got?

- Some sperm whales.

- Sperm whales?

- Yeah.

- Aha!

- Let's go.

[Bertie] They've been

seen in a favorite feeding

spot not far from us.

[in Portuguese] Whale!

About 200, 300 meter,

I would say.

-Oh, yeah, really

close, really close.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, there, there, there.

-I can see it's

a very small one.

[Bertie] Sperm whales

don't feed on the bait ba*ls

we're looking for,

but I want a closer look.

I've never seen a sperm

whale underwater before,

so I'm very excited.

Sperm whales hunt in the

deep on prey like giant squid.

Ready?

They depend on sound to hunt,

navigate, and communicate,

so they're highly

sensitive to noise.

To avoid any disturbance,

we've opted to approach on

a very small kayak,

something we have a

special permit to do.

Okay, we're gonna

hop in nice and slowly.

From its size, I'd say

this whale is just a baby.

Question is, where's mom?

[Bertie] Right on cue,

mom joins the

calf from the deep.

Sperm whales are

incredible free divers.

The adults can hold their

breath for 90 minutes and

dive to depths of

over 6,000 feet,

but a young calf like

this takes time to

learn these skills.

So every time mum

goes down to the deep,

he stays at the surface,

alone and vulnerable.

Thankfully, with

whale hunting banned,

these waters are

the perfect nursery.

[heavy breathing]

You know, that's

actually got me a bit

emotional because, you know,

less than 40 years ago,

easily within the

lifetime of a sperm whale,

this place was a,

a slaughtering ground,

whereas now it's

just this protected

haven for mothers and calves.

It's gonna take

a long time for the

population to recover.

For now, that's a

pretty amazing sight.

Protected areas like

the Azores provide a

much-needed refuge for

traveling sperm whales,

but they can

also attract the odd,

unexpected visitor.

[laughs]

Hey!

We appear to have

picked up a hitchhiker.

This bird is a brown booby.

Brown boobies are

typically found searching

for bait ba*ls in

places like the Caribbean.

Are you gonna help

us find the, the fish,

or are you just

gonna stand there?

Oop, oh, oh.

[laughs]

You're such a bad boat guest,

you come here,

you sit on our chairs,

and then you poo

all over the deck.

Ugh, it's an

absolute mess back there.

[laughs]

Goodbye booby have a great day.

It's late afternoon,

prime time for hunting.

[Mariana] False

K*llers, at 1 o'clock!

-Whoa!

Mariana's spotted a predator

I've always wanted to meet.

Whoa.

So we've got a pod

of false k*ller whales,

which are a really,

really exciting species to see.

Just like k*ller whales,

false k*ller whales are,

in fact, dolphins.

They're social,

intelligent predators

built for hunting

fast-moving prey,

and this pod is

joined by another species.

It's so cool the

bottlenose dolphins

are interacting

with the false K*llers.

[Marianna] Woo hoo!

[Bertie] It's a promising

sign that could lead us

to a bait ball and

sooner than I thought.

Oh, well, the behavior

of the false K*llers

has changed entirely.

They've spread out in

this big, long battle line,

so we think they're on the hunt.

The false K*llers leave

the dolphins behind,

and with no

shearwaters in sight,

I don't think they're

looking for a bait ball.

They've set their

sights on something bigger.

There's a couple here.

That one's got a tuna, Jeff.

[Paulo] I saw I saw the tuna.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

[Bertie] Tuna are

seriously speedy fish.

Some species are

capable of reaching more

than 40 miles per hour.

[Paulo] Okay, let's go.

Under the boat, under the boat.

[Bertie] The false K*llers

have landed their prize,

a single bigeye tuna.

That must have been some chase.

Weighing up to 400 pounds,

a bigeye tuna is

a meal for sharing.

It's a rare sight

which reveals the deep

social bonds among the pod.

That was pretty incredible.

They were prey

sharing underwater,

tearing little pieces off,

sharing it amongst the family.

It was hard work

to keep up with them.

An epic scene to witness,

but it's thrown our bait

ball quest off track.

We need to rethink our strategy.

We're finding big groups

of Cory's Shearwaters

is so important for the

success of our mission.

So far, we've only been

finding groups of hundreds.

I know that somewhere out there,

there are groups of thousands,

and that's what we need to find.

With just two weeks remaining,

we need some help.

[Bertie] Cape Linhos is home

to several thousand shearwaters.

The birds, I hope, will lead

me to a predator gathering.

What a view.

What a place to have your nest.

By spending time with

a shearwater scientist.

-Hi!

-I'm hoping we can

fine-tune our strategy.

-How's it going?

Hi, welcome.

-This place is amazing.

-Welcome to Capelinhos colony.

[Bertie] Elizabeth Atchoi

has spent the last eight years

studying the health and

feeding behavior of these birds.

So, you see, Elizabeth

is just working her way

around this hillside,

and every time she finds

a burrow, the only way

to find out if there's a

chick inside,

if it's a deep burrow,

is to put her arm

right into the back of it.

Elizabeth, you've

got a weird job.

-Actually, while

I'm checking this one,

there's one in front of you,

if you're brave enough.

-This one?

There's something very

unnerving about putting

your arm down a dark hole,

that you don't know

what's at the end of it.

Elizabeth?

-Yeah.

-What am I feeling for?

-A beak biting you?

-Oh, good.

[laughs]

Nothing there.

There are over

1,000 burrows to check,

and only some of

them are occupied.

I can see the chick.

[speaking in foreign language]

[Elizabeth] This is

a very shallow nest,

so it's easy, but carefully.

You just get them.

[Bertie] Whoa, wow.

[Elizabeth] And, yes.

-What is it about them

that makes them so good

at diving underwater,

trying to catch fish?

-One thing is the

positioning of the legs.

So you can see it's at

the back of the body, right?

-More hydrodynamic.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Another one is the oil,

which is a gland that they

have at the base of their tail,

which is here.

Once they fledge,

they start producing oil,

and then they take the

oil with beak and pass one

by one on each feather

until they are waterproof.

-And that's the

waterproofing that allows

them to dive and catch

fish from the bait ba*ls.

-Yes, and the other one?

-Wow, yeah, the nic,

nictitating membrane.

-Yeah, you see?

Yeah, yeah.

So when they dive,

they close it.

-They've got inbuilt

swimming goggles.

- Yes.

- That is so cool.

-They are very cool.

[Bertie] Shearwaters

are perfectly adapted

to hunting at sea,

but to find a bait ball,

I need to know

where they're doing it.

So, when the adults

really need to fatten up,

where are they hunting?

-Seamounts are

very productive areas,

and they can

spend like a week or

ten days just feeding

on that very rich area.

They have uh the

currents that come up and

brings a lot of nutrients,

and then that feeds the whole

cascade of microclimate and

little fish, bigger fish,

whales, dolphins, etcetera.

-And shearwaters.

-And the shearwaters, yes.

-So really, if we want

to find these big ba*ls

of fish, we've got

to go to the seamounts.

-Yeah, it's time

to put him back.

-Okay, hey, buddy.

Sorry for all the fuss.

Let's put you back in there.

-That's good.

[peaceful music playing]

[Bertie] With Elizabeth's

fresh new Intel,

we set a course for Azores Bank,

a colossal underwater

mountain over 20 miles offshore.

With only ten days remaining,

going beyond the

range of Daniel and

his fellow spotters is a gamble.

Conditions are looking good,

so we're going to

use the power of

the wind and get out there.

-There's more, more wind now,

so we'll be there in no time.

-I'm just looking

at the bathymetry charts,

that's the map of the seabed.

We've got Princess Alice Bank,

we've got

Azores Bank, Condor Bank.

These are all

underwater mountains

that don't break the surface,

but they come very close to it.

When ocean currents

slam into seamounts,

deep, nutrient-rich water

is driven upwards, fueling

the food chain.

The ideal conditions

for a bait ball.

I can see Elizabeth was right,

this is the place to be.

Well, this is what

we've been looking for.

We've got a lot of

shearwater action all over

the place, thousands of them.

This is a really good sign,

things are hotting up.

Before long, even more birds

flock to the sea mountain,

all charging in

the same direction.

Got a huge concentration

of shearwaters ahead of us.

Well, on cue, the

dolphins have arrived,

huge pod of spotted dolphins.

There's hundreds of them.

This hunt is looking

better than anything

we've seen so far.

This is gonna be hot.

[Paulo] Let's go,

let's go, ready?

[Bertie] Ready?

[Paulo] Okay, let's go,

let's go!

Quick, quick, quick!

Careful with the camera.

[Bertie] A pod of

bottlenose dolphins have

joined the smaller

spotted dolphins.

The two dolphin

species join forces,

rounding up a school

of jack mackerel.

With all three

predators working together,

they're doing a much better

job of containing the fish.

But suddenly

their behavior changes,

and a big shadow approaches.

[Bertie] A minke whale.

The dolphins are still working

to drive the fish together,

but the minke is closing in.

In one giant gulp,

the show is over.

Minkes can gulp down

700 gallons of water filled

with prey in a single mouthful.

The dolphins

didn't stand a chance.

I thought that was it then,

I thought it was gonna happen.

But suddenly the minke

whale just came out of

nowhere and said,

thank you very much for

condensing all that

food and just went boom.

The dolphins and

shearwaters have moved on.

So it's back to

the big boat to reset.

Wow, blue shark.

[Paulo] Yeah.

[Bertie] Big dorsal.

[crew] That is a big dorsal.

-Paulo, blue shark

on the surface.

[Paulo] Yeah?

[Bertie] Yeah.

They gather on the

seamounts around the

Azores at this time of year.

The reason they come

here is because the,

the waters around the

Azores are just so, so rich.

Blue sharks are

another predator I've been

hoping to find on a bait ball.

Whoa, look at that.

They are seriously

beautiful animals.

Definitely one

of the most beautiful

to visit the Azores.

I think it's definitely

time to get in the water.

Let's do it.

These sharks aren't

normally aggressive,

but the team have my

back to avoid any surprises.

[Mariana] Behind you,

behind you.

[Bertie] Wow, hey, buddy.

Oh, they are so beautiful.

Oh, hello.

Ah, that made me jump,

they come out of nowhere.

So sneaky.

Although they are really

chill and docile with me,

they are incredibly

capable predators,

and I'm hoping if we see a,

a big predator gathering,

the blue sharks

will be a key player.

They use a type of

camouflage known as

countershading to

sneak up on their prey.

You know, on top

they're that brilliant blue

so they blend in with

the deep and then bright

white underside, and it

means when looking up at them,

they just disappear

into the surface.

They're just so curious.

I bet if we, if we do

manage to get one on a,

a predator gathering

with other species,

they're gonna be

going for their food like

there's no tomorrow.

Blue sharks, dolphins,

whales, and shearwaters,

they're all here

at the seamount.

Now, all we need is for them

to unite in an epic feast.

But a storm is closing in.

Well, that does not look good.

That is a big storm

on its way towards us.

Paulo and the rest of the

crew are busily running around,

battening down the hatches.

We're about to get very wet.

This storm could signal

a shift in the seasons when

migrating animals move on.

The wind gains strength.

We've no choice but

to abandon the seamount

and head back to port.

But with only a week left,

the pressure is on.

This storm is just

slamming the marina.

To think what it must

be like outside the

protection of the island,

where we need to be to film.

We're definitely

going nowhere for now.

Days pass,

and my hopes of filming

an epic bait ball are fading.

[waves crashing]

But Paulo has some news.

-There will be a small

gap between the two storms,

and I think we should

leave from the marina

around 6:30

in the morning.

We will arrive at

Azores Bank around 8 o'clock

and we'll have around

two maximum three hours.

-Yeah.

This gap between two big

storms is just enough time

to visit the seamount

for one last shot.

[Paulo] Let's go

tomorrow morning.

-Yeah, it looks like

a really tight window.

We're gonna have to get lucky.

-We don't have uh options.

-Yeah.

It's 5:30 a.m.

and we're loading our equipment.

Taking the fast boat

is our only way to get to

the seamount and back before

the next big storm arrives.

Well, we're just

leaving the marina,

and we're traveling out

under moonlight at the moment,

we've got about 20, 25

miles ahead of us, uh,

which we're hoping to cover, uh,

just in time for sunrise.

But out there on a small boat,

we're a long way from

help should anything go wrong.

[Bertie] It's a bumpy

two-hour journey to the

remote seamount.

Our timing is critical.

Paulo, how much

further to the bank?

-Half mile.

-Well, we're coming

up to 20 miles offshore.

The sun's just popping

up above the horizon,

and we're just coming

over the, the seamount,

the bank, and already can

see a lot more signs of life.

A lot more birds flying around,

a lot of shearwaters.

This is more like it.

Thousands of shearwaters

joining the charge.

Everything's taking

advantage of the break

in the weather.

It's crazy, so many

shearwaters all together.

They're all just

coming out of the woodwork.

We haven't seen this

many together before.

We're doing more

than 30 miles an hour,

and they're overtaking us,

not even flapping.

They're in a

high-speed chase with

something beneath the waves.

It's a united army of both

spotted and common dolphins.

So we've got

shearwaters, dolphins.

A lot of predators

joining this party.

Everything's heading

in one direction,

and there's a huge

frenzy brewing ahead.

It's going to need to

be a quick drop this one.

[Paulo] Quick, quick, quick.

Right, keep going.

[Bertie] The dolphins

circle a mega school

of jack mackerel.

But there are so

many fish to contain.

And the school

is trying to escape.

I can't keep up, I need

to get back to the boat.

Okay, okay.

Paulo, it's running fast,

so let's just

try and drop ahead.

-Yeah, more and

more forward, yeah.

[suspenseful music playing]

-See how fast that

action's running,

it's not yet stabilized.

It's not enough

predators underwater

to keep it in one spot.

But the dolphins have

called in reinforcements.

Hundreds more join the hunt.

Ah, so many dolphins.

It's a properly epic scene.

-All right, whale right here.

-Whale there, yeah.

[Paulo] Okay, let's go.

Go, go, go, go.

Quick, quick,

quick, quick, quick.

Okay, go, go, go,

dive, dive, dive!

Just in front of you.

Dive!

[Bertie] The spotted

and common dolphins try

to herd the fish.

A third species arrives.

Bottlenose dolphins.

Circling the school,

the predators

tighten their grip.

[suspenseful music playing]

But something has

spooked the dolphins.

Blue sharks.

This time they're

not quite so friendly.

They're here to hunt.

[ominous music playing]

They return to the depths,

leaving the school in tatters.

But the feast isn't over;

the dolphins are back

for one final showdown.

Completely surrounded,

the fish are trapped.

They form a bait ball.

Now the dolphins can feed.

The bait ball is forced upwards.

Down come the shearwaters.

Diving to more than 50 feet.

[upbeat music playing]

And it's not over yet.

The commotion draws the

attention of a minke whale.

She wastes no time

plowing through the middle

of the bait ball.

And just when I thought

it couldn't get any wilder.

A huge humpback.

Unfortunately, he's too late.

I can't believe

what we just witnessed.

Seven different species.

Thousands of predators.

That is total,

total chaos down there.

I mean, there's

just predators everywhere.

So many different types.

I mean, dolphins,

shearwaters, sharks,

even a whale,

grand finale at the end.

I mean, that has

got to be one of the

greatest shows in the ocean.

Yeah, buddy.

-Finally, finally, man.

-Yeah, man.

Good job, man.

Cheers man.

Cheers dude, thank you, and

just in time for the weather.

-Yeah.

[Bertie] After

five long weeks at sea,

storms and near misses,

our perseverance

has finally paid off.

I got to witness a true

spectacle of survival

and teamwork while

learning more about the

delicate balance

of life in the Azores.

And I got to film

the most diverse predator

gathering of my career.

What a day, what an expedition.

The Azores have taken

some incredible first steps

in protection,

but if we want the

ocean to truly thrive,

we need more marine

protected areas across

all the predators'

vast migration routes,

so that the natural

wonder we saw today is

not just the exception,

but the norm.