There’s a silent killer threatening the existence of whale sharks - plastic pollution. Whale sharks are filter feeders who cannot chew their food, and instead strain small fish from the 6 000 litres of water they consume every hour. In the process, they can ingest over 100 pieces of plastic every time they feed. This affects their health and ability to reproduce. Basith Mohamed and the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme are mobilising locals from these islands to save the world’s largest shark. They organise volunteer programmes and internships, provide marine science education to kids, and lead research to understand the population dynamics of whale sharks. Head to maldiveswhalesharkresearch.org to learn more. Footage by Kaushiik Subramaniam, Sven Dreesbach, and the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme was used in the creation of this film.
Up Next in Season 2
-
Ryan Mario Yasin
Children grow rapidly, especially in their first two years of life. This leads to an increased demand for clothing, which puts enormous strain on the environment during production. Toxic textile waste is dumped in rivers, while resource-intensive materials result in the fashion industry using ove...
-
Pooja Rai
Kids living in poverty lack access to designated play areas, but need this space to learn essential life skills. Pooja Rai has come up with a way to build jungle gyms in India at minimal cost. Her NPO, Anthill Creations, uses scrap material from dump sites to develop outdoor play areas. The heaps...
-
Frank Cato Lahti
Frank Cato Lahti is working to end Africa’s housing crisis and the suffering of people who are homeless. He’s the founder of OTHALO, a Norwegian start-up that has developed technology to build houses from recycled plastic. "The moment you have a home, you have something of value in life,” Lahti s...
