Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE TO ONE OF THE MOST

BREATHTAKING SHORELINES IN THE WORLD,

THE WILD COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA.

WE'LL DISCOVER THE AWESOME BEAUTY OF THIS OCEAN

WILDERNESS AND WITNESS THE POWERFUL FORCES THAT SHAPE

THIS COASTLINE.

WE'LL MEET THE PROUD PEOPLE WHO DEPEND ON THE

WILD COAST FOR FOOD AND LEARN THE WAYS THEY'RE

FIGHTING TO PROTECT IT, AND WE'LL EXPERIENCE THE

MANY AMAZING ANIMALS DRAWN HERE FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

AND WITNESS ANIMAL BEHAVIORS LIKE YOU'VE

NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

DYLAN: OCEANS COVER MORE THAN 72 PERCENT OF OUR PLANET,

BUT SCIENTISTS BELIEVE LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT OF

OCEANS HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN EXPLORED.

IT'S HOME TO 230 THOUSAND KNOWN SPECIES,

BUT BIOLOGISTS BELIEVE THE ACTUAL NUMBER TO BE MORE

LIKE TWO MILLION, SO IT'S SHOCKING TO REALIZE THAT

HUMAN ACTIVITY HAS CAUSED SEVERE DAMAGE TO OCEAN

HABITATS AND THREATENS ENTIRE OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS

WITH COLLAPSE.

TODAY, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW AREAS LEFT ON EARTH

WHERE THE OCEAN IS PRISTINE.

WE FIND ONE SUCH PLACE WHERE AFRICA MEETS THE

SEA.

DYLAN: WELCOME TO THE EASTERN COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA,

WHERE THE INDIAN OCEAN MEETS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN,

WHERE TROPICAL PREDATORS MEET COLD-WATER PREY IN

ONE OF THE GREATEST NATURAL EVENTS ON THE

PLANET.

IT'S KNOWN TO THE LOCAL PEOPLE SIMPLY AS THE WILD

COAST.

DYLAN: FOR CENTURIES, HUMANS THOUGHT OF THE WORLD'S

OCEANS AS A VAST, LIMITLESS RESOURCE;

WHY SHOULDN'T WE?

THERE WERE SCHOOLS OF FISH TOO BIG TO IMAGINE,

CREATURES THAT FILLED US WITH WONDER AND FEAR,

AND THE OCEAN'S BOUNTY DIDN'T JUST PROVIDE US

WITH FOOD; IT ALSO GAVE US OIL FOR FUEL,

FOR POWER, AND LIGHT.

YET IN JUST A FEW HUNDRED YEARS,

WE'VE DISCOVERED THAT OCEANS ARE NOT ENDLESS

AFTER ALL.

ONE-BY-ONE, FISHERIES HAVE BEEN DEPLETED AROUND THE

WORLD.

IN SOME PLACES LIKE THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA,

THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN, AND THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC

OCEAN, THE FISH WE TOOK WERE AT THE CENTER OF A

DELICATE FOOD CHAIN.

THEY WERE CONNECTED TO THE TINIEST MICROORGANISMS AND

TO THE LARGEST ANIMALS ON EARTH.

BY BREAKING THAT FOOD CHAIN,

ENTIRE OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS HAVE COLLAPSED BEFORE WE

EVEN KNEW THEY WERE IN TROUBLE.

DYLAN: BACK ON THE WILD COAST, WE MAY HAVE A GLIMPSE

OF WHAT THE OCEANS MIGHT HAVE LOOKED LIKE

HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO BEFORE HUMAN DISRUPTION.

HERE, GIGANTIC SCHOOLS OF FISH ARE PURSUED BY THE

HIGHEST CONCENTRATION OF OCEAN PREDATORS IN THE

WORLD.

THERE IS NO SAFE HARBOR FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES.

THIS IS A REMOTE OCEAN WILDERNESS.

BENEATH THE WAVES, WE WITNESS THE CIRCLE OF

LIFE.

THESE ARE SARDINES.

THEY ARE A VALUABLE SOURCE OF PROTEIN FOR EVERY

PREDATOR AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN.

THEY ARE CENTRAL TO THE OCEANIC ECOSYSTEM.

FOR JUST A FEW WEEKS EACH WINTER,

MILLIONS OF SARDINES FIND THEMSELVES DRAWN INTO THE

SHALLOW WATER, CREATING SHOALS UP TO TEN MILES

LONG.

FROM THE AIR, THEY COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR AN OIL

SLICK.

THE SARDINES FOLLOW THE COLD-WATER CURRENT

SWEEPING NORTHWARDS FROM THE SOUTHERN CAPE OF

AFRICA.

THIS CAN BRING THEM AS FAR AS THE WILD COAST AND

PERHAPS EVEN FURTHER NORTH TO THE BEACHES OF KWAZULU

NATAL, WHERE ANOTHER PREDATOR AWAITS THEM,

HUMANS.

DYLAN: PASSING NORTHWARDS FROM THE WILD COAST INTO

KWAZULU NATAL IS LIKE ENTERING A DIFFERENT SOUTH

AFRICA, EVEN A DIFFERENT WORLD..

...THIS IS WHERE ZULU AND WESTERN CULTURE COME

TOGETHER, SHARING A COMMON LINK,

A CONNECTION WITH THE SEA.

INDUSTRY CAME TO THIS REGION FROM THE LAND AND

THE SUGAR CANE FIELDS, BUT THERE IS ANOTHER KIND OF

WEALTH IN THE OCEAN.

WHEN THE SARDINE SHOALS PASS NORTH OF THE WILD

COAST, OPPOSING WARM-WATER CURRENTS CAN FORCE THE

COLD WATER CLOSER TO THE SHORE.

IF THIS HAPPENS, THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FISH CAN

BE LITERALLY SWEPT UP ON THE BEACHES IN A POTENTIAL

BONANZA FOR THE LOCAL FISHERMEN.

FISHERMEN LOOK FOR DOLPHINS ARRIVING FROM THE

SOUTH, TELLTALE SIGNS THAT SARDINES ARE ON THEIR WAY.

THEY PREPARE THEIR NETS AND WAIT.

NOT SO FAR AWAY JUST BENEATH THE WAVES,

THESE BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS WILL WORK TOGETHER IN

GROUPS USING SONAR TO TRACK DOWN THE SARDINES.

DYLAN: DOLPHINS ARE HIGHLY SOCIAL CREATURES.

THEY ARE EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT,

SHOW EMPATHY AND COMPASSION,

AND EVEN SEEM TO CALL TO EACH OTHER BY NAME.

MANY SCIENTISTS BELIEVE DOLPHINS ARE SELF-AWARE.

THE SARDINES BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY HUNDREDS OF MILES

SOUTH OF THE WILD COAST NEAR THE FISHING PORTS OF

MOSSEL BAY AND PORT ELIZABETH.

IT IS ALSO HOME TO SOME OF THE PREDATORS THAT WILL

PURSUE THEM.

THIS IS A COLONY OF MORE THAN 60 THOUSAND GANNETS,

MANY OF WHOM WILL MAKE THE JOURNEY NORTH TO TRACK

DOWN THE SARDINES.

THESE FUR SEALS HAVE TRAVELED ONLY A SHORT

DISTANCE FROM THE EASTERN CAPE AND HAVE FOUND A

SHOAL, NOT OF SARDINES, BUT OF A BAIT FISH CALLED

MOSSBUNKER.

THE SCHOOL OF FISH HAS FORMED WHAT IS KNOWN AS A

BAIT BALL IN AN EFFORT TO CONFUSE THE PREDATORS AND

PROTECT ITSELF.

THE SHOAL MOVES AND CHANGES SHAPE ALMOST AS IF

IT'S A SINGLE ENTITY.

BY SWIMMING CLOSE TOGETHER AND ONLY REACTING TO THE

MOVEMENT OF THEIR NEIGHBOR,

EVERY SINGLE FISH CONTRIBUTES TO THE SHOAL

INTELLIGENCE.

DYLAN: FISH AREN'T THE ONLY ANIMALS THAT

CLUSTER TOGETHER IN A GROUP TO CONFUSE PREDATORS.

WE'VE ALL SEEN FLOCKS OF SMALL BIRDS MOVING

TOGETHER IN PERFECT FORMATION TO AVOID

PREDATORS LIKE HAWKS AND FALCONS,

BUT LARGER ANIMALS LIKE ZEBRAS USE THE SAME TYPE

OF STRATEGY ON THE SERENGETI PLAINS.

FOR ME, THESE EXAMPLES ARE EXCELLENT REMINDERS THAT

THE BEST WAY TO SURVIVE IS BY STICKING TOGETHER.

COMING UP NEXT, HUMANS DEPEND ON THE WORLD'S

OCEANS AS A MAIN SOURCE OF FOOD,

BUT OUR APPETITE HAS OUTGROWN OUR RESOURCE;

AND LATER, THOUSANDS OF SHARKS HAVE DESCENDED UPON

THE WILD COAST LOOKING FOR A MEAL.

DON'T GO AWAY.

"JOURNEY" WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO "JOURNEY".

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

SOME 90 PERCENT OF THE GREENHOUSE GASSES THAT

CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING ARE ABSORBED INTO

THE WORLD'S OCEANS.

SCIENTISTS PREDICT OCEAN TEMPERATURES COULD RISE

MORE THAN SEVEN DEGREES BY THE END OF THIS CENTURY,

AND ALTHOUGH NO ONE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT THAT MEANS

FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET,

EVERYONE AGREES IT'S NOT GOOD.

DYLAN: MANY FACTORS CAN AFFECT THE PROGRESS

AND MIGRATION OF THE SARDINE SHOALS.

AS GLOBAL WARMING RAISES SEA TEMPERATURES,

THE FISH MAY BE FORCED FURTHER AWAY FROM THE

COAST INTO DEEPER AND COLDER WATER.

THIS FAR SOUTH, THEY FACE ANOTHER HAZARD,

FISHERMEN.

FISHING BOATS TAKE THOUSANDS OF TONS OF

SARDINES EACH YEAR.

THE AMOUNT OF SARDINES TAKEN FROM THE OCEAN IS

STRICTLY REGULATED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT

IN AN EFFORT TO ENSURE THE FISHERY IS SUSTAINABLE,

BUT EVERY YEAR, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SARDINES HEADING

NORTH IS REDUCED.

BACK ON THE WILD COAST, COMMON DOLPHINS BEGIN TO

ARRIVE FROM THE COLDER WATERS OF WESTERN AND

SOUTHERN SOUTH AFRICA.

THEY'RE NOT NATIVE TO THESE WARMER,

SUBTROPICAL WATERS.

IN JUNE AND JULY AS THE SARDINE HUNT BEGINS,

THEY FORGET THEIR TERRITORIAL DIFFERENCES

AND GATHER TOGETHER IN PODS OF UP TO FOUR OR FIVE

THOUSAND.

THERE CAN BE AS MANY AS 20 THOUSAND OF THEM HERE OFF

THE EAST COAST OF AFRICA.

THEIR PRESENCE IS A SURE SIGN THAT THE SHOALS ARE

APPROACHING.

DYLAN: OFF THE COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA,

SHARKS GATHER IN HIGHER CONCENTRATIONS THAN

ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.

PERFECTLY EVOLVED SEA HUNTERS,

SHARKS CAN DETECT THEIR PREY FROM A DISTANCE OF

SEVERAL MILES.

SO, WHEN THE SARDINE SHOALS BEGIN TO ARRIVE,

YOU CAN BE SURE THESE BLACKTIPS,

COPPERHEADS, AND DUSKIES WILL BE AMONG THE FIRST TO

FIND THEM.

SHARKS CAN DETECT THE INVISIBLE ELECTROMAGNETIC

SIGNALS GIVEN OFF BY ALL LIVING THINGS.

THIS SPECIAL POWER ALLOWS THEM TO LOCATE ANIMALS BY

FEELING THEM WITHOUT ACTUALLY SEEING OR HEARING

THEM.

NO OTHER HUNTER ON EARTH CAN RIVAL THE DEADLY

ABILITIES OF THE SHARK.

DYLAN: THE PEOPLE OF KWAZULU NATAL HAVE PLACED

NETS AROUND POPULAR BEACHES TO KEEP SHARKS

AWAY FROM SWIMMERS.

TODAY, THOSE NETS ARE BEING REMOVED IN

ANTICIPATION OF THE APPROACHING SHOALS.

THE SHEER NUMBER OF SHARKS AND DOLPHINS THAT ARE

EXPECTED THIS TIME OF YEAR MAKE THESE NETS A

LIABILITY.

TOO MANY PREDATORS COULD BE TRAPPED IF THE NETS

WERE TO REMAIN.

IT IS HERE NEAR THE WILD COAST THAT THE EARLIEST

EVIDENCE OF MAN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SEA

HAS BEEN DISCOVERED.

AS THE FISHERMEN WAIT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF THE

SARDINES, THESE WOMEN COLLECT SHELLFISH FROM

ROCK POOLS IN A TRADITION THAT DATES BACK THOUSANDS

AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

♪ WOMEN SINGING ♪

EVERY STORM FRONT THAT ARRIVES FROM THE SOUTH

BRINGS WITH IT COOLER AIR AND COLDER WATER,

DRAWING THE SARDINES FURTHER AND FURTHER NORTH.

TRAVELING ALONGSIDE THEM IS ANOTHER WINTER VISITOR,

THE HUMPBACK WHALE.

HUMPBACKS HEAD NORTHWARDS LIKE STEAM TRAINS TOWARD

THEIR WINTER BREEDING GROUNDS IN THE WARM WATERS

OF MOZAMBIQUE.

THEIR ARRIVAL MAY COINCIDE WITH THE SARDINE SHOALS,

BUT THEY ARE MORE SPECTATORS THAN

PARTICIPANTS IN THIS ANNUAL EVENT.

DYLAN: HUMPBACK WHALES FEED IN THE SUMMER MONTHS

AND LIVE OFF THEIR FAT STORAGE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

OFF THE WILD COAST, THEY SEEM MORE INTERESTED IN

PLAY.

DYLAN: BREACHING IS A COMMON SIGHT FROM THE

SHORELINE AT THIS TIME OF YEAR AS THE GRAND PROCESSION OF

HUNDREDS OF HUMPBACKS PROCEEDS NORTHWARDS.

DON'T GO AWAY.

"JOURNEY" WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: THE FIRST OFFICIAL MENTION OF SOUTH AFRICA'S

FAMOUS SARDINE RUN WAS IN A NEWSPAPER ARTICLE IN

1853.

WHEN CONDITIONS ARE JUST RIGHT,

MILLIONS OF SARDINES SWIM INTO THE SHALLOW BEACHES

ALONG THE WILD COAST, AND FISHING BECOMES AS EASY AS

HOLDING A NET.

DAWN ON THE KWAZULU NATAL COAST.

AS THE DOLPHINS AND GANNETS TRACK DOWN THE

SHOALS OUT AT SEA, THE PEOPLE HERE ARE STILL

WATCHING, STILL WAITING.

EVERY WINTER STORM DISRUPTS THE MILD SOUTH

AFRICAN CLIMATE.

COLD STORM CURRENTS CARRY THE SARDINES FURTHER AND

FURTHER NORTH, WHILE WARMER CURRENTS PUSH THEM

CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE SHORE.

MARINE ANIMALS SENSE THESE CHANGES IN THE OCEAN IN

MANY WAYS.

NOW ALL THE WILD COAST'S PREDATORS ARE ON THE MOVE,

INCLUDING HUMANS.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT ALL YEAR.

THE DOLPHINS GATHER MOMENTUM AND PREPARE TO

CHARGE.

DYLAN: GANNETS TAKE TO THE AIR IN GREATER

NUMBERS THAN EVER.

THEY CAN DIVE FROM AS HIGH AS ONE HUNDRED FEET AND

PLUNGE AS DEEP AS 30.

IT'S TIME FOR THE SARDINE RUN.

DYLAN: MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF SARDINES HAVE

FLOODED THE SHALLOW SHORELINE.

THEIR NUMBERS ARE STAGGERING,

AND THE SHEER SIZE OF THEIR COMBINED WEIGHT

RIVALS ALL OF THE GREATEST MIGRATIONS ON EARTH.

EXACTLY HOW AND WHY SO MANY SARDINES GROUP

TOGETHER IS A MYSTERY, BUT WHAT'S KNOWN FOR CERTAIN

IS THAT EVERYONE GETS THEIR FILL.

THROUGHOUT THE 20TH CENTURY,

COUNTLESS TONS OF SARDINE SHOALS WOULD FILL THE NETS

AND BUCKETS OF LOCAL FISHERMEN.

IN RECENT YEARS, THE SARDINES HAVE REACHED THE

NORTHERN BEACHES IN FEWER AND FEWER NUMBERS.

AS THE OCEAN TEMPERATURES RISE,

THE CONDITIONS WILL BE LESS FAVORABLE FOR THE

SHOALS TO APPROACH THE SHALLOWS.

AS THE OCEAN CHANGES, THEIR BEHAVIOR WILL ALSO

CHANGE.

THIS BREATHTAKING DISPLAY OF LIFE IS BECOMING ALL

TOO RARE.

WE ARE APPROACHING THE TIPPING POINT WHERE MANY

OF THESE INCREDIBLE SPECIES CAN NO LONGER

SURVIVE THE CLIMATE CHANGES WE ARE CREATING.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.

DON'T GO AWAY.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE BEGINS WITH

EDUCATION.

WHEN PEOPLE FULLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT THEY

HAVE ON THEIR ENVIRONMENT, HABITS CAN CHANGE,

NEW POLICIES CAN TAKE HOLD,

AND OUR PLANET CAN HEAL.

SO, HOW DO WE FIT INTO THE FOOD CHAIN?

AS WE CONTINUE TO SQUEEZE FISH INTO A CAN OR PACK

THEM ON ICE, WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP OUR OCEANS

HEALTHY AND ALIVE?

DYLAN: ONCE UPON A TIME, ALL THE WORLD'S OCEANS

WERE AS RICH AND VITAL AS THE WILD COAST.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO BRING THE WORLD'S OCEANS

BACK TO LIFE?

IT'S TIME FOR A SEA CHANGE.

DYLAN: RIGHT NOW, OVER 12 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S LAND

IS PROTECTED, YET LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED OF ONE PERCENT

OF THE OCEAN IS A MARINE RESERVE.

NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTH AFRICA NOW LEAD THE WAY

WITH SOUTH AFRICA COMMITTING TO PROTECTING

20 PERCENT OF ITS COASTLINE.

IF THE REST OF THE WORLD WERE TO FOLLOW,

THERE WOULD BE HOPE FOR OUR OCEAN WILDERNESS,

HOPE FOR THE GREAT SHOALS AND FOR THE PREDATORS.

THE WILD COAST RECENTLY BECAME ONE OF SOUTH

AFRICA'S LARGEST MARINE PROTECTED AREAS,

COVERING MORE THAN EIGHT HUNDRED SQUARE MILES.

FOR NOW, THE WILD COAST IS STILL A PLACE WHERE WE CAN

GLIMPSE WHAT THE OCEANS OF THE WORLD LOOKED LIKE

HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO AND PERHAPS ONE DAY COULD LOOK

AGAIN.

THE MOST POWERFUL AND POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL

CHANGES WILL NOT COME FROM CORPORATIONS OR

GOVERNMENTS OR VISIONARIES.

INSTEAD, THEY WILL COME FROM ALL OF US MAKING

INDIVIDUAL CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES AND

WHAT WE CHOOSE TO VALUE.

WHEN EACH OF US DOES OUR PART TO SAVE OUR PLANET,

BIG THINGS WILL HAPPEN.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR JOURNEY TO SOUTH AFRICA'S

WILD COAST.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.