ABOUT
As the first grandson of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Fabien spent his early years aboard his famous grandfather’s ships, Calypso and Alcyone; and learning how to scuba dive on his fourth birthday.
He is well known for his study of sharks. From 2000-2002, Fabien was an Explorer-at-Large for National Geographic and collaborated on a TV special aimed at changing public conceptions about sharks called, “Attack of the Mystery Shark”. In 2003-2006, he produced the documentary, “Mind of a Demon”, that aired on CBS. With the help of a large crew, Fabien created a 14-foot, 1,200- pound, lifelike shark submarine called “Troy” that enabled him to immerse himself inside the shark world, providing viewers with a rare view of the mysterious and often misunderstood creatures.
For the next four years (2006-2010), Fabien was part of a multi-hour series for PBS called, “Ocean Adventures” with his father, Jean-Michel Cousteau, and sister, Céline, inspired by his grandfather’s famous 1978 PBS series, “The Cousteau Odyssey”. In the following years, and as a member of multiple cause- driven and charitable boards, Fabien has been working with local communities and children worldwide to help restore local water ecosystems.
In June 2014, Fabien and his team of aquanauts embarked on Mission 31, the longest science expedition to take place at Aquarius, the world’s only underwater marine laboratory located in Florida. Fabien’s Mission 31 broke new ground in ocean exploration and honored the 50th anniversary of his grandfather’s original underwater living experiment (Conshelf Two) by going deeper, longer and further, while broadcasting the Mission live on multiple channels educating and exposing the world to the adventure and mystique of our blue planet.
Early in 2016 he founded the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center (“FCOLC”) to fulfill his dream of creating a vehicle to make a positive change in the world. Currently he is working on multiple projects and dedicates much of his time to the FCOLC’s marine restoration programs and research initiatives to protect and preserve the planet’s waters, coastal areas, and endangered marine habitats.
Recently Fabien was named an Honorary Advisor to the NGO Committee Sustainable Development-NY, whose purpose is to monitor and influence the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We hope you enjoy this interview with a true icon as much as we enjoyed making it!
WHO ARE YOU AND WHY IS CONSERVING AND PROTECTION THE OCEANS IMPORTANT TO YOU?
My name is Fabien Cousteau. I'm an aquanaut and an ocean conservationist. I have had the privilege of being in the ocean since I was 4 years old - so many decades! And I'm the third generation in my family to do so.
Well, I would say something very similar to the pioneers out there. Who connected our generation with the importance of the ocean. The Silvia Earls and Jacques Cousteau’s of the world and others which is “Ocean is Life”
No ocean, no life.
The ocean is quite simply not only symbolic but the very real iteration of our life support system. It is the circulatory system that makes all life that we know, in this universe possible, Everything that we cherish, everything that we take advantage of. And, of course, anything that we benefit from, is directly or indirectly related to the viability and the health of our ocean ecosystem.
No ocean, which is the life of this brown rock in space. So, to me, the ocean is not only the proverbial mother earth womb it should be - the mother ocean womb, it is also the universal connector.
2. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THAT IS BETTER FOR THE OCEANS?
I don't know if the word better is appropriate, but I do whatever, I can because my eyes have been opened to the importance of the ocean world as well as its beauty, from a young age, I do whatever I can to minimise my impact as, as a being on this planet as a species on the spine, obviously I drive a car. Now, I do that as little as possible, but I do drive a car, I eat. I breathe, I sleep. I do all those things that have an impact, you know, living existing has an impact and so life and the viability of the universe is based on balance, right?
I don't want to get too esoteric about this but essentially it's a matter of being able to counterbalance our negative impacts with positive impacts so that we can give back to our future generations what we've taken for granted and whether that's making a decision of eating a piece of sea life and I say, specifically versus seafood.
So that's an example right there, changing the language that we use around our ocean world, which will give us the appreciation and the value that, whatever it is, that we're talking about has.. So for example, seafood doesn't necessarily contain value in our minds subconsciously, when we go to the supermarket, if you call it sea life, all of a sudden, it has a tangibility of value and understanding, a soul, whatever you want to call it, and then maybe that conjours up a better decision, making process.
So making better decisions of what kinds of seafood. You might eat if you eat any at all, maybe looking at the impact that we have in our idea of everyday actions, making it become more conscious about recycling. Which by the way is the last R in the chain:
Refused, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
If you talk to Diana from Plastic Pollution coalition, she'll give you a good verse on that and beyond this, we just have to be more understanding that as creatures, we consume. And we need to be able to tailor our consumption to the ability that we have to counterbalance that.
it's not a take, take, take world, right? It's not an endless resource in a garbage can, the way we've been treating it. It is a finite resource and one that needs to be revered as our life support.
3. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE SURFING INDUSTRY SPECIFICALLY CAN BE DOING TO SUPPORT THE HEALTH OF THE OCEANS?
The surfers and the surfing industry. They're the Sentinels, they're the eyes and ears and voices of the ocean. They're the ones that are on the front lines every day, going out and enjoying the beauty, the majesty of the ocean, the communion with the ocean and they're also the ones that see first hand what's happening on a day to day basis in their local community.
And so by connection, by virtue of that fact, they are best suited to be responsible for proactive action against any negative impacts on our ocean whether it's effluent going into the water, untreated sewage, for example, whether it's plastics washing up on our shores, whether it's the understanding that red tides are are happening and that really shouldn't happen in that area, whatever those things are.
They are the ultimate custodians of the ocean. And so, by virtue of that fact, they have not only a privilege of being in that position, but a great responsibility that we all need to better connect with. So that all of us can be part of a solution.
4. CAN YOU RECOMMEND ANY BOOKS, BRANDS, ORGANISATIONS OR PEOPLE OUR FOLLOWERS SHOULD CHECK OUT FOR INSPIRATION?
There are a lot of great examples of innovative approaches of large and small companies that are taking the lead in bringing in new materials, bringing new manufacturing approaches, new conservation approaches that are integrated into their mantra and more concretely into their spreadsheets. And that's that kind of balances the inevitable negative impacts that any and all consumer goods and services have.
And so I don't necessarily feel comfortable singling one or two out because there are a lot of good examples. I would definitely encourage people to seek those out, especially the smaller companies which have the flexibility of integrating these innovative and and more ecologically balanced approaches out and solicit them as well.
The larger companies are, you know, bigger tankers to move. But as they integrate more and more of these evolutionary approaches to the needs and desires that their consumers want, which is to live in more harmony with the oceans, especially in relationship to the sport or activity, that they are promoting then, I would say, you know, seek those companies out because at the end of the day, that's a positive impact you as a consumer can have.
ANY FINAL MESSAGE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?
Yeah, you know, I have lived my life in a way that is not just being an ocean explorer which is the core of my mission, but one that's wrapped in the ability or the desire to engage others to be part of the understanding and the community that will make change for the better.
And by that there's something my grandfather said to me, when I was young, which is:
“People protect what they love, they love what they understand and they understand what they're taught"
And for those out there who are blessed with being able to be surfers or divers or adventurers, those who go to extreme environments, those who innovate, those who have the proactive sense of making the world change. It is all of our responsibility to engage and empower and encourage others to be part of that community and to help us change the course that we've set for ourselves so that our future generations can take advantage of what we have.
You can follow Fabien on Instagram HERE and watch his fascinating Ted Talk on what he learned spending 31 days underwater HERE