Marseille & the pirates ...

By Kamel Benabid

"Pirates of the Caribbean", you know? Yes, I guess, because few people have not heard of Jack Sparrow's exploits in Disney's famous movie trilogy. Well, my first meeting with Sea Shepherd could almost have been a fourth full fledged Or at least the opening sequence. Okay, this may only be worth a modest extra to include on the Supreme Edition DVD. But the story deserves to be told, so judge for yourself.

Corsairs in Marseille waters

Early July 2015 off Marseille. I come back from a dive with friends. The boat traces its way in serenity: good weather established and water around the 27 degrees. Suddenly, I see a black sailboat with skulls drawn on the bow and flying the pirate flag.
A thousand ports, would we be threatened? Because the attack is the best defense, I start the boarding of the boat. I then draw my double-handle dome with the intention of dazzling them. From the bridge, I already take advantage of it to strafe the assailants. Then, I throw myself into the water and continue to trigger bursts of images.
Impressed, Jack Sparrow, raises the white flag and offers me to start talks aboard his ship. He explains to me that his mission is in fact most peaceful and that his crew and he would like me to fight with them. Ok, but what purpose do these men and women pursue?

Operation Mare Nostrum

Yes, that's right! So what are the people doing Sea Shepherd on the Phocean coast? Do not they have to save some whale in Antarctica, dolphins in Taiji or pilot whales in the Faroe Islands? In fact, if the Columbus, the ambassador ship of the fleet, and two fast boats, the Loki and the Thor, are here, it's in a brand new operation called Mare Nostrum. No question of preserving a particular species but all. The enemy? Human waste, specifically plastics and ghost nets.

These fishing nets, lost or abandoned at sea, continue to capture marine animals for decades. They have become a scourge for the marine world. A scourge all the more insidious as it discreetly kills fish, turtles, birds and marine mammals in long and excruciating suffering, without bloodshed. Understand far from the cameras? That's why my brand new Nikon camera, slipped into its pretty bright red metal sheath, caught the eye of sea shepherds. The “underwater camera with its local diver-photographer” package represents an ideal tool for raising public awareness. Impossible as a concerned diver to resist such a proposition. An appointment is therefore made in a few days to start the dives with the team.

First immersions

8h30, nautical base of Roucas Blanc. I arrive excited as a flea at the Sea Sheperd base camp installed on a site graciously made available by the municipality. The equipment loaded on the Thor, we reach at sea the Columbus because it is aboard the flagship that all the briefings are organized. A team of professional divers is present. All volunteered. They teach us various techniques, especially those of lifting because the mission of the day is to extract water tens of tires. Grouped together the previous days, they form large piles on a background of 16 m. The divers dash a colossal job. In record time, three tons of tires are hoisted on board. Of course, I'm immortalizing all that.

The following days are devoted to ghost nets. Several sites have been indicated and, as a local diver, I guide the team to reach them. In addition to various waste, we are hauling our first nets. What a waste to see dozens of dead fish in these abandoned traps. Fortunately, we sometimes arrive in time to save the most recent victims still alive, to whom we can release such scorpionfish, sars and lobsters, as well as, on one occasion, a splendid torpedo ray.

"Sir, yes sir!"

All divers being volunteers, they take days off to participate in Operation Mare Nostrum. A turnover is established. When some leave, others come in turn to lend a hand. Around mid-July, it's up to the head diver to go home. I propose to replace him because the exercise is as exciting as it is eminently useful. For a first campaign based mainly on the active participation of divers, many procedures need to be put in place. The ideal is to form groups of three, two divers intervening while the last observes in the background to ensure their safety, ready to intervene in case of concern.

on the left Kamel Benabid (photo: Valérie Perez and not Kamel)

Not to mention the logistics aspect, therefore, given the size of our team. In this respect, the contribution of GRASSM (http://www.grasm-plongee.com), diving and underwater archeology club located at the entrance to the Old Port, to which we borrow equipment and who graciously performs all inflation without asking for any consideration, should be noted. Various people including videographer René Heuzey also lend us blocks.
I have been directing the dives for a few days and we are chaining the catch. In total, no less than two kilometers of fishing nets will be extracted from the water. Until the mistral begins to roar. No question of putting a diver into the water by force 7! Impossible to go out at sea.
Never mind… if we went for a dip in the Old Port? That's good, the harbor master's office gives us the authorization.

Old Port: electro shock

It is 14h00 this 27 July 2015, when we dock at the Belgian dock, the main dock that faces the famous Canebière. We are in the middle of summer and it is crowded with holidaymakers. Our presence fuels the curiosity of passersby and the team is in great demand. The reception of the public is warm and the encouragements of the people go straight to the heart. And yes, we are like that in Marseille ...

Immersion along the quay. The water is pretty clear for a port. Visibility is around 5 m. When I get to the bottom, I come face to face with a shark's head! A blue skin of three or four meters, probably captured that very morning. A purely food intake since the fins lie at its sides. And legal, since the species is not protected. I also and especially discover a lot of fishing nets. In the mesh, dead fish and others dying. We manage to free some of them. A small victory… We continue our immersion. Waste accumulates in layers: plastics, bottles, clothing, various packaging, metal barriers, etc. A real underwater dump. After collecting a few samples, we decide to move away from the main dock. Always waste. Impossible to say what nature is the bottom of the port. Rock, sand, mud? No idea. Coming out of the water, I was as disturbed as a Marseille supporter in a home defeat against PSG. I am handed a microphone and I express my dismay with a "downstairs, it's Apocalypse Now", the first thing that comes to mind. Phrase that will be widely used later ...

Media rush

Because this dive, filmed, will make the buzz. Posted on social networks in early August, the video is shared and view in a few days more than 100 000 times! Web media relay information far beyond our borders: Canada, Switzerland, Spain, North Africa, etc. The generalist channels also enter the dance. I am asked to speak live during the 20h of BFM TV. Panicked, I call the President of Sea Shepherd to know what I have to say. "You are part of the team, you know our mission. You just have to talk about what you're doing and get the message out, "she answers.

And in the role of spokesperson… Kamel…

After BFM, the mad media race continues, notably with TF1 and France 3. The message escapes me in part because journalists are mainly looking for the sensational side. They are still putting Marseille on trial for being "a dirty city". The shortcuts are easy. This does not excuse everything but we forget to specify that this is the outer port of the second city in France, located just ten meters from a metro exit. A place where, between the evenings of fireworks, the trophies won by OM, the demonstrations against this or that government measure and the various shows, meet regularly and rarely parade in peace, several hundred thousands of people! Not to mention the gusts of this damn mistral which push everything out to sea. I am torn between a feeling of pride to have participated in the making of these images and a feeling of having been instrumentalised by the media since only part of my words have been reported. But I imagine that this is the game. The main thing is that there was an awareness by the population that ... the sea is not a garbage can! http://goo.gl/gHRvON

First reports

Operation Old Port has had a huge impact. However, it was only a parenthesis on a whole month of actions in Marseille, before the convoy Sea Shepherd do not resume the road to the East. Several stages: Hyères, Cannes then Italy, Spain and return to Marseille with possible stops in the South West. To date, a few kilometers of additional ghost nets have been released from the water.
In the end, this adventure will have made it possible to perfect and optimize the intervention techniques. Congratulations to all the many volunteers who have succeeded and provided an outstanding job.

The outlines of the forthcoming Mare Nostrum campaigns are well established and are already being prepared. It is also planned that Sea Shepherd creates local branches Sea Shepherd Dive Where experienced divers will be trained to assist in seabed clean-up activities, possibly in partnership with other associations.
As for me, this large mobilization of goodwill, the concrete results obtained and their media impact ... which far exceeded me, confirmed me in the idea that I chose THE right organization to defend causes dear to my heart. of all lovers of the sea.

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