Q4_Fall_2016_AlertDiver

ALERTDIVER.COM

and cultivated local stewardship. At CRMIP I worked

closely with Costa Rica’s president, José María Figueres

Olsen, and Cocos Island director, Joaquin Alvarado,

documenting the national park and creating a visual

presentation that helped gain Cocos Island a place in

the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Cocos Island has had a special place in your heart

since then — tell us more about Cocos.

Cocos is a remote island where time has stood still.

When I first went there, it changed my life. After

working in ocean conservation, I decided not to finish

medical school and instead went in a different direction.

When we are talking about the oceans and

protecting them, we can liken our passion for the

ocean to passion for poetry and art — things that are

important to the soul. We might have food — the

sustenance we require to live — but we need things

that fill our souls, that make us

want

to survive. From

Robert Louis Stevenson to Michael Crichton, many

writers and artists have gone to Cocos; I am just one

of many that this place has changed.

I am always happy when I go back to a place and see

that it hasn’t been harmed very much. But I go back to

Cocos, and it’s better. Now we see whitetip sharks hunting,

resident tiger sharks and orcas coming in consistently.

Speaking of sharks, Sea Save’s “Give ’em the

Fin” campaign to stop shark finning is wrapping

up after three years, and you’re focusing on

something new. What’s next?

Next year one of our major campaigns will target

Cocos Island. It is so remote, and that’s what has

protected it. But as megafauna begin to diminish

throughout the oceans, people are casting an eye

on Cocos and similar places as the last spots to

catch sharks.

We are planning a 2017 expedition to go there and

reestablish our communication program. We will be

speaking with leadership on the island. We only hear

about Cocos when there is trouble, but our idea is to

develop “The Voice of Cocos Island,” a program to

educate people about what’s going on there.

Can the public get involved?

Yes! We still have a few spots on our Cocos Island

liveaboard expedition (Feb. 15-25, 2017), with a

portion of the payment funding conservation. We

will have a submarine on board and a top-notch

crew. There will be talks about the history of Cocos

Island and why it’s a world heritage site and, of

course, lots of diving. Visit

SeaSave.org

to see what

it’s all about.

Clockwise from top:

Bradley shoots for the

Wall Street Journal

the Bahamas.

The UNESCO team

at Cocos Island works

to achieve World

Heritage status.

Bradley photographs

evidence of turtle

poaching in Limon,

Costa Rica.

Bradley attends

the 2016 CITES

conference to fight

for protection for

sharks and rays.

Opposite:

Bradley

models for the cover

of the Delphinus

housing manual.

JAY IRELAND

BRADLEY IRELAND PRODUCTIONS