It’s that time of year – actually it’s just this year – we are looking for new ocean documentaries to watch after finishing most series and films on Netflix. But, do you ever get that sinking feeling after watching an ocean documentary, like there’s nothing you can do to help? We’ve found a new platform that not only lets you watch change-making documentaries for FREE, but gives you ways you can actually help while watching – like donating or volunteering with that project.
Waterbear is the very first streaming platform totally dedicated to the future of our planet and oceans, supported by over 80 global NGOs including Sea Shepherd, Marine Megafauna Foundation, Sea Legacy and many more. It’s like Netflix for climate documentaries.
With some hard-hitting climate change and ocean conservation spotlights, we know if any community around the world would love to learn more on how to help it’s Girls that Scuba. We’ve listed 10 of our must-watch Waterbear films here. Don’t forget to sign up first, it’s completely free! For Apple/IOS and for Android.
Queen of the Mantas
Of course, we want to start with an amazing female scuba diver; marine biologist Andrea Marshalls who in this short documentary, Queen of the Mantas, talks to us about Manta Rays in Mozambique and her work to protect them.
Hazel the ocean guardian
Hazel is a whale conservation guide in South Africa, she spreads the word of conservation in the local school in her township and by taking tourists out whale watching. She teaches kids to look after our animals and helps keep the school funded by donations and bringing tourists to the school after their whale watching. A heartwarming short film featuring Hazel with the huge smile!
Ghost Fleet – Girls that Scuba top pick!
Ghost Fleet is the longest of our features, a full 1 hour and 30 minuets of shocking material and stories. Ghost Fleet delves into Thailand’s fishing industry, which supplies a large portion of the world’s seafood. The country’s giant fishing fleet is chronically short of up to 60,000 fishermen per year, leaving captains scrambling to find crew. Human traffickers have seized upon the labor shortage, selling people from Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and across Southeast Asia for a few hundred dollars each. Once at sea, the men often go months, or even years, without setting foot on land. Beaten, starved and held in cages, men are forced to work for little or no pay. Is your seafood caught by slaves?
Murder at Sea
A hard-hitting 10 minute watch about the way ‘observers’ have been murdered at sea. Revealing secrets of the fishing trade and the extremes some fisheries will go to catch more fish and make more money – and how they hide the illegal going ons in any way they can.
Christine Figgener
Christine Figgener conserves sea turtles for a living – especially their eggs. Sea turtles face numerous challenges, and one of them is egg poaching. Christine shows us how she hides the eggs and protector them from poaches as well as how she educates the local community and hires them to help with conservation rather than poach the eggs.
Turning the tide on plastic
Ramon Knoester wants to beat plastic pollution, he turns ocean waste into a structure to help the ecosystem; by adding greenery to the plastic structure it also filters the air and regulates the air in the city he lives. In this 3 minute short film, they show us the importance of cutting out plastic and ways in which we can help get rid of the plastic that washes up in our waterways.
Kodiak Queen – Girls that Scuba top pick!
A must-watch for wreck divers! Staring Richard Branson and a team of divers and artists on British Virgin Islands, they change this pearl-harbour survivor into a recreational wreck dive site in the most unique, beautiful way, hoping to make the BVI one of the most sought after dive destinations in the Caribbean.
Nature Now
A short film narrated by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg and writer/climate activist George Monbiot to serve as a call to action to protect, restore and fund Natural Climate Solutions (NCS), released at the Global Youth Climate Strike at the United Nations.
The end of the line
Rupert Murray’s acclaimed full length film looks at the consequences of unchecked, unregulated sea fishing across the globe. It is not a film about what might happen, it is a film about what has happened.
A voice for whales
A Voice For Whales tells the inspirational story of environmental activist and Pacific Whale Foundation Founder, Greg Kaufman and his life long fight to save Humpback Whales from extinction. A tribute to an enigmatic unsung hero who grew a fledgling non-profit organization into a global thought leader in marine conservation. Employing science and data-driven research, Greg advocated tirelessly for whales and the welfare of the oceans and never faltered in his quest to educate the public and raise awareness
Disclaimer: This article is sponsored by WaterBear but all reviews and opinions are that of Girls that Scuba.