Fight to save coral reefs captured in new Amazon Prime documentary

The inspiring fight to save threatened coral reefs has been captured in a poignant and powerful film starring featuring a University of Essex marine scientist.

Professor David Smith’s incredible work - alongside that of many dedicated reef restoration experts - is explored in new Amazon Prime documentary ‘Reef Builders’.

The School of Life Sciences researcher explains how the Sheba Hope Grows program - built on over a decade of research and restoration by the Mars Sustainable Solutions team - is helping to restore degraded reefs worldwide.

They have been devastated by destructive fishing practices, over-tourism, and a rapidly warming ocean accelerating impacts of climate change.

Professor Smith through his work as Chief Marine Science Officer for Mars and the Incorporated and Senior Director at Mars Sustainable Solutions, leads the restoration and research strategy for the coral reef restoration program.

His work inspires indigenous people in Hawaii, Australia, and Kenya use metal Reef Stars to cultivate coral growth around the world.

Professor Smith said: “Scientists have estimated that if we do nothing, 90% of the world’s tropical reefs will be gone by 2050—a devastating prospect not just for the reefs’ ecosystems, but for the hundreds of millions of people who depend on reefs for food, income, and coastal protection.

“We know that coral reefs are the heart of our oceans, and the continued work spotlighted through Reef Builders shows that there really is hope.

“Reef Builders highlights the science and collaboration that makes rapid reef restoration possible, proving we can create thriving ecosystems that benefit both people and nature.”

The documentary, which is available to stream now, follows communities across Indonesia, Hawaii, Australia and Kenya, working to save preserve their way of life on a fast-changing planet.

In the cinematic feature, with a narrative told first-person by indigenous fishermen and divers, the film shows how  villagers on the remote Indonesian island of Bontosua have rebuilt a coral reef reduced to rubble by years of destructive fishing practices.

Inspired by their work the cinematic feature documentary - with a narrative told first-person by indigenous fishermen and divers - follows coral-reliant coastal communities from Kenya, Hawaii and Australia as they travel to Bontosua to learn how a simple invention, the ‘reef star’, could help them rebuild their own coral reefs.

It shows first-hand the challenges and successes of reef restoration, as they navigate regulatory bodies, the impact of tourism and coral-killing marine heatwaves the accelerating impacts of climate change in their attempt to build and install reef stars on their reefs.

Director Stephen Shearman said: “When I read about the work of the Mars Sustainable Solutions team and Prof. David Smith in Indonesia, I couldn’t, at first, quite believe it.

“Here was a team who claimed that they could rebuild coral reefs from nothing and incredibly quickly – it seemed almost miraculous.

“The more I read, the more I came to understand what it was they were doing. But nothing prepares you for being there and seeing it with your own eyes.

“I have seldom met a senior scientist like Dave Smith: entirely selfless, he tirelessly works to empower the communities he is working with.

“While we were there, we saw the whole community come together to rebuild their reef.

“It really is remarkable what they are achieving there.”