Jonathan Bird's Blue World on Public TV

[Inthewater2]

Jonathon,

Thank you so much for putting together a potentially great dive adventure show for all ages. I am always up for watching dive porn. However, I need to make some observances that may seem a bit critical. Please take these as constructive criticism and not just me being nasty. I am an environmental educator and have to frequently battle the evils of television and I would love to be able to give you my viewpoints as not a frontal attack but as potentially improving the world due to your efforts.

1. Please make sure you are showing environmentally friendly practices. Where it is great that you can show kids that you can touch a blue shark and it won't kill you, the big picture is touching should not be done at all...PERIOD. We are observers in the underwater world who should only interact with other organisms if they interact with us. Showing how close the blue was getting to you is wonderful, showing their inquisitive nature is great, showing you touching them...not so good. It gives the wrong message and it could cause quite a lot of stress to an animal. In short-Show respect to our underwater hosts. What you do and show makes a big impact on other people.

2. Instead of saying, "Not very much is known about sharks..." Find an ichthyologist that specializes in sharks who can tell you that there is quite a lot known about sharks, just that there is much more to be learned. There are lots of shark specialists out there, contact a local university with a marine biology or zoology program or contact an aquarium...especially if they are AZA accredited. They will be happy to help you. Basic biology goes a long way with the general public.

3. Never assume an animal has a difficult life because it is doing what it is designed to do. When discussing the pelagic white tipped shark I believe you made the comment that it has to keep swimming or die. But you didn't say that the wide pectoral fins are an adaptation allowed to keep them gliding through the water column. Much like the albatross and their wide wings it is what it is designed to do. Trite remarks that say it’s a hard life are unnecessary and can be misleading.

4. Try making a difference in the world by speaking about real hardships that sharks have, overfishing and pollution. You have the platform, make a difference!

5. I was almost pleased about how you handled the beluga whale segment, except showing the complete exploitation of an animal obviously misplaced is not exactly environmentally friendly. You did mention that there were opposing factors to this but you certainly did not heed the correct environmental practices and show the beluga and not exploit it yourself...tsk..tsk...

6. And my last...observation...please don't show people that you can take a gulp of a gas pocket in a cave. Even though you were relatively sure that the gas pocket was caused by your air bubbles, it could have been any gas. And indeed could have been toxic. I would assume by marketing your program as an educational program, you truly want to teach, let's practice safety at all times to teach the correct methods and practices of diving.

I'm very serious when I say; I want your program to succeed. But please, be mindful of the messages that you are putting out in the world. You could be a person leading to great change and environmental health. Or you could lead people down the path to environmental destruction and human injury.

Thank you for considering my comments.

 

[ScubaSteve]

First of all, I have watched a couple of your episodes and plan to watch the rest soon. I have thoroughly enjoyed them and can say that I respect what you are trying to do. Educating "surface dwellers" of the underwater world is important. It is too bad however, that the domestic market sees this as "too advanced" for them.

Although I do agree with some of Inthewater2's comments about the message you are sending to those that you are educating I am personally of the opinion that people the people watching this should be responsible (or the people who are responsible for those watching it). They are not likely to run out to "ride a shark" simply because they saw you touch one. I also do not think that certified cave divers will take a big gulp of air in a cave simply because you did. Inthewater's comments will definitely apply to those who have chosen to ignore their training or to do something which is beyond their training. I really do believe that those that you are educating would benefit more in future episodes where you are practicing the proper underwater interaction (or lack there of as it really should be).

Thank you for the show and I will check back often to see new episodes hopefully.

 

[Fishbird]

Inthewater,

Thanks for your comments. I always find it interesting to hear what people think of the show and what their "nitpicks" are. If we show the program to 100 divers, we get 100 different nitpicks and pet peaves. When we write the show, we try to walk the line between entertainment and education by keeping it fun, yet putting a lot of good information in there. First and foremost, the program must be fun and interesting, otherwise people won't watch. As much as divers might stay glued to an educational program about something they care about, the general audience will not. It's not as easy as you think to create something that contains enough information to be educational but enough action to be engaging.

I'm going to try to avoid getting into a point-by-point discussion with everything you said, but I would like to make a few comments on your thoughts.

Showing how close the blue was getting to you is wonderful, showing their inquisitive nature is great, showing you touching them...not so good. It gives the wrong message and it could cause quite a lot of stress to an animal. In short-Show respect to our underwater hosts. What you do and show makes a big impact on other people.

In theory you are right, but I try to look at the big picture. I do not eat seafood. Do you? Most divers do. I find it incredibly hippocritical that divers will complain about someone making a pufferfish inflate, or touching the reef gently, then go back to the hotel and order snapper for dinner. I don't think that petting a Blue shark on the nose as it swims by hurts them at all. If my action doing this demonstrates to a kid that sharks are not monsters, then I think I have done a service to the world far greater than the harm of touching an animal. Do I stand on the coral? No. Do I think the reef will die if I use two fingers on a dead section of reef to position myself for a shot? No. We make choices based on many variables. I believe that the biggest threat the the oceans in this day and age is overfishing of all kinds so I choose not to eat fish of any kind. I don't think that petting a shark on the nose is a serious threat to anything--except maybe my fingers.

2. Instead of saying, "Not very much is known about sharks..." Find an ichthyologist that specializes in sharks who can tell you that there is quite a lot known about sharks, just that there is much more to be learned.

Good luck finding one that believes that. Shark biologists will tell you that we can't answer the most basic questions about sharks that would be asked by a typical 2nd grader: How old do they get, how fast do they grow, how deep do they go? About the only thing we can answer with confidence about most sharks is what they look like. I did a film about sharks for national geo in 2004 and that was underlying theme: that we know almost nothing. In fact, my sentence above is nearly an exact quote from a world-renown shark biologist.

3. Never assume an animal has a difficult life because it is doing what it is designed to do. When discussing the pelagic white tipped shark I believe you made the comment that it has to keep swimming or die. But you didn't say that the wide pectoral fins are an adaptation allowed to keep them gliding through the water column. Much like the albatross and their wide wings it is what it is designed to do. Trite remarks that say it’s a hard life are unnecessary and can be misleading.

We did an additional segment (an "extra") on the website about pelagic animals and explored this subject. It is kind of hidden on the site as a bonus feature you have to find. Watch it here.

It was outside the scope of the story on the relationship between sharks and whales. We only have 8-10 minutes for each story....you can't discuss everything. As an additional comment, humans have legs and are designed to walk. That doesn't mean it would be easy to walk all the time. Just because an animal is designed to accomplish something doesn't mean it's not a lot of work to do it! A shark that has to keep swimming, partially gliding or not, has a tough life!

4. Try making a difference in the world by speaking about real hardships that sharks have, overfishing and pollution. You have the platform, make a difference!

Increasing knowledge and interest in sharks is making the difference. Many people seem to feel that signing an e-petition or something is "making a difference." I choose to enlighten people, to change their perception. It has longer-reaching effects. Furthermore, preaching too much is a turnoff to most people. We did a whole film on the need to protect sharks and why here. But putting a call to action in every episode of the program would surely be a turn-off for most viewers.

5. I was almost pleased about how you handled the beluga whale segment, except showing the complete exploitation of an animal obviously misplaced is not exactly environmentally friendly. You did mention that there were opposing factors to this but you certainly did not heed the correct environmental practices and show the beluga and not exploit it yourself...tsk..tsk...

What "correct environmental practices" did we not heed? If bringing a controversial situation to light is exploiting it, I'm not sure what the solution is. Ignore it? I tried to fairly show both points of view on the issue.

6. And my last...observation...please don't show people that you can take a gulp of a gas pocket in a cave. Even though you were relatively sure that the gas pocket was caused by your air bubbles, it could have been any gas. And indeed could have been toxic. I would assume by marketing your program as an educational program, you truly want to teach, let's practice safety at all times to teach the correct methods and practices of diving.

This is kind of funny because you have picked up on this, but not on the fact that we didn't follow any of the industry-standard cave diving procedures, which is what most people give me a hard time about with this segment. All I can say in my defense is that we were in a cavern, not a cave (if you have been to Ginnie springs, you know what I mean). The cavern/cave distinction is lost on the non-scuba-certified and there is no point in trying to drive a point home that doesn't mean anything to the audience. Again, yes the program is educational, but it is also entertainment, and it is the entertainment part that gets the educational part across to the viewer. The next time our audience is cave diving, hopefully they don't breathe from the gas pockets in the cave ceiling!

Jonathan

 

[Fishbird]

ScubaSteve,
Thanks for the support!

Jonathan

 

[Fishbird]

For those of you following the progress of the show, we are shooting the second season and I have started a blog to follow the fun here.

We also have a new line of swag and our new Season 1 DVDs are hot off the press and in stock!

(OK, enough of the shameless plugging...)

 

[David_The_Diver]

Have just finished watching the first season, looking forward to the next one, keep it up!

 

[Fishbird]

Thanks David. Where have you been watching it?

(I'm curious).

Jonathan

 

[Fishbird]

Another segment has been posted....this one about Giant Clams. Only one more segment from the first season is left and then we start on Season 2.

Jonathan

 

[Fishbird]

Hi Everyone,
A long-awaited update to an older thread.

Season 2 of Jonathan Bird's Blue World in HD is finished and has been scheduled for delivery to public TV stations in the USA starting Oct 9. Distribution deals in Canada, UK and other English-speaking markets are pending.

Already, the program is scheduled to air in 30% of the USA starting in October. Check our regularly-updated schedule page for your particular station. (Season 1 reached 40% of the USA, which was darned impressive to us, considering there were only 5 half-hour shows!) We are hoping to see season 2 go well over 60% of the USA.

We will of course be releasing webisodes on our newly redesigned website. The first two from season 2 have already been released and an additional webisode will be released each month. The entire season 1 series of 15 webisodes has been posted in a larger size, so they look even better than before! Plenty to keep you busy.

For educational use, a webisode is always posted with an accompanying study guide. This helps teachers get better use of the segment in the classroom. The site is endorsed by the National Science Teachers Association and the NEA.

For those of you on Facebook, please join up as fans!! And our Blog is always being updated with our adventures. Check out my recent trip with David Doubilet and Wyland!!

Best,

Jonathan

 

[Fishbird]

Hey Gang,
Just a small update. Today we posted the third segment from season 3 - Whale sharks of Holbox. Hope you enjoy it!

We are currently airing in 47% of the USA (150 million potential viewers!) including 60% of the top 25 markets. Season 2 in HD has been very popular. I'm leaving for Indonesia tomorrow, working on season 3.

Best,
Jonathan