What is the backstory of the fish on our plate? Seabirds, marine mammals and unwanted fish species like mako sharks are caught as bycatch. This film combines the work of commercial fishers, conservationists and community stakeholders to arrive at a solution to minimize bycatch, and achieve more sustainable fish consumption. —DM

South Florida’s Everglades wetlands, estuary and ocean are deeply intertwined. The first in a 3-part series, Ocean Conservancy’s J.P. Brooker takes the viewer into an exploration of South Florida’s seagrass, mangrove and coral reef habitat and their importance to humans and the environment. Our host examines the region’s environmental challenges and impacts, and the work of local advocates and leaders to restore and protect this national treasure. —DM

Coastal mangrove forests are buffers between land and sea, playing the critical role of protecting coastal communities from storms, wind and erosion. Largely ignored and misunderstood, these critical ecosystems don't just affect local communities and wildlife, but their critical ecosystem services reach far beyond. On an island in Southern Thailand mangroves deforestation has continued in the last 50 years. This film shows how local people have been affected, and highlights efforts to restore these habitats to secure a more sustainable future —GC

In this male dominated field, Jill Heinerth does not dive into dark underwater caves of California’s Channel Islands for the adrenaline rush. She enters this rare, pristine place, the “veins of Mother Earth” to explore and map the biology and the geology of the planet’s past. —KH

Reaching speeds of 45mph, makos are one of the fastest fishes and among the world’s most important apex predators, regulating healthy fish stocks that feed billions of people. But they can’t outswim longline tuna hooks or the shark-fin trade that are causing their populations to crash. Award-winning cinematographer Shawn Heinrichs makes an urgent plea for protection.—BB

Most marine mammals swim, but these tiny winged denizens of caves on the island of Partida in the Sea of Cortez rely on the sea as much as any sea lion. An intrepid young scientist studies these endangered Mexican fishing bats as they flit every night into the desert darkness to fish, attempting to unravel their secrets before they become lost forever.

Mangroves are the forests of the sea. Adapted for salty conditions where the land meets the ocean, they provide essential ecosystem services to local people in the Bay of Assassins in Madagascar who are being dramatically affected by mangrove deforestation. Mangroves provide nurseries for fish, protection against large storms, and some mangrove forests can store up to 6 times more carbon per unit area than the Amazonian rainforest. Blue Ventures is working with locals to restore mangrove forests, increase carbon storage potential and provide sustainable livelihoods.

Meet Margarita Ayala, a Latina surfer whom you'd likely find enjoying the waves of Pacifica Beach just south of San Francisco. Like her ancestors who fished the waters of El Salvador, she craves the waves but at the same time seeks her reflection in the identity of her fellow surfers.

Its repugnant moniker belies its bumpy beauty: a diminutive amber-to-ruby-to-sable colored tubular marine invertebrate, highly prized as an Asian culinary delight. Sea cukes cultivate the ocean floor, devouring debris like earthworms, recycling nutrients into the water column. Though overfishing has devastated some populations, California fishing communities and agency biologists work to recover and manage these treasures.

This film unravels the mystery behind one of the most catastrophic species die-offs in recorded history –– the sea star wasting syndrome that started in 2013. Find out why the sea stars have died, what factors led to the epidemic, and the effects of the die-off on intertidal ecosystems from Alaska to Mexico

Coastal wetlands are not only critical to marine wildlife in its infancy, they also help improve water quality, and protect shorelines from erosion. What’s more, carbon builds up in these wetlands, providing a little known essential service that helps to mitigate climate change. Learn about the climate benefits of blue carbon in estuary conservation and restoration in the Snohomish estuary.