Brian Skerry Quotes

Ten percent of the big fish still remain. There are still some blue whales. There are still some krill in Antarctica. There are a few oysters in Chesapeake Bay. Half the coral reefs are still in pretty good shape, a jeweled belt around the middle of the planet. There's still time, but not a lot, to turn things around.

The real threat to whales is whaling, which has endangered many whale species.

Sharks are in real trouble, and they need all the help they can get.

There are so many issues in our oceans - like the near extinction of blue fin tuna - that should be taken more seriously worldwide.

I'm concerned about the ocean and the environment. And I love whales.

Every fish in the ocean is in danger.

Pollution, overfishing, the destruction of habitats, and climate change are emptying the oceans and enabling the lowest forms of life to regain their dominance.

Over the last several decades, human activity have so altered the basic chemistry of the seas that they are now experiencing evolution in reverse to the barren primeval waters of hundreds of millions of years ago.

I'd rather write about polar bears than people.

I am delighted to see that the issue of coral reefs is receiving the attention it deserves.

'Cod' was a great story. It let me talk about the environment without putting people to sleep.

Cultures have long heard wisdom in non-human voices: Apollo, god of music, medicine and knowledge, came to Delphi in the form of a dolphin. But dolphins, which fill the oceans with blipping and chirping, and whales, which mew and caw in ultramarine jazz - a true rhapsody in blue - are hunted to the edge of silence.

Swimming has been a very effective medium for telling a story about the state of our planet.

I started traveling in the Arctic in 1991, so I experienced the ice in winter and spring. The seasonal sea ice, it has a long season. It starts in September and ends in June.

I don't want to live in a world where I could say to my daughter, 'There used to be turtles that swam in the ocean.'

As an explorer, I know firsthand there are many places in the ocean so full of life that they should be protected. Coral reefs and mangrove coastlines are stressed already by climate change and ocean acidification, and poor planning will just make their plight worse.

There are a number of things everyone can do to help protect whales.

I'd like to see the Amazon rainforests before they're all gone, and also the Galapagos - that's another one I'd like to do. I'd love to go diving in those areas. Basically, places, like, that are kind of going away, and I'd like to see them before they all become condos and high-rises.

Ocean acidification is often referred to as osteoporosis of the oceans because as acidity rises, shell building creatures such as lobster, oyster, crab, shrimp, and coral are unable to extract the calcium carbonate from the water that they need to build their shells and are thus unable to survive.

I haven't been to Tasmania. I haven't been to the South Pole, and I haven't been to the North Pole. I want to see the polar bear migration before there are no polar bears. I want to see Glacier National Park before the glacier melts.

Marine scientists predict that by 2050 there will be no more large fish left in the ocean if we don't change our relationship with the sea.

Some studies suggest that the Arctic Ocean may be ice-free by the end of the century.

Since the middle of the 20th century, more has been learnt about the ocean than during all preceding human history; at the same time, more has been lost.

I'm hopeful that we'll be able to study the ocean before we destroy it.

It's time to end the cruel slaughter of whales and leave these magnificent creatures alone.