Cousteau on the power of the ocean

Jean Michel Cousteau is one of the key speakers at Surf Summit 15 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

To get ready for his upcoming talk, we emailed him a few questions to find out more about him, his work, and his love of the ocean.

Cousteau, son of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, is also an ocean explorer, filmmaker, television personality, and environmentalist.

One thing everyone at Surf Summit will want to know is – do you surf?

The answer is I haven’t surfed yet. I’ve enjoyed most of my life on the ocean and under its surface. When I’m not conversing with all of you about the ocean during the Surf Summit, I look forward to seeing you all in the water.

What is the most amazing thing you have seen on a dive?

Orcas, killer whales. They are to the sea what we are to the land – intelligent, social, talkative and playful – beautiful animals to see above and below the surface of the sea.

What is the most important lesson you learned from your father?

Curiosity, discovery, sense of adventure, and patience. Really everything he has taught me, I have integrated in to the mission statement of my non-profit, Ocean Futures Society.

I established OFS to honor his philosophy of exploration. The mission statement of OFS is: to explore our global ocean, inspiring and educating people throughout the world to act responsibly for its protection, documenting the critical connection between humanity and nature, and celebrating the ocean’s vital importance to the survival of all life on our planet.

Can you describe how you feel when you are in the ocean?

You are weightless; it’s like being an astronaut. Being submerged beneath the surface of the sea always recharges my batteries. It gives me the energy when I am back on land to remind people of the importance the marine environment has on the quality of our lives. The ocean is our life support system.

Where is your very favorite place to be in the ocean?

Maybe it will be my next dive? But of places I have explored, I love diving the kelp forest around the Channel Islands and seeing the rich diversity of tropical coral reefs in Papua New Guinea and Fiji.