The ocean covers seventy per cent of our world

Countries & Cities · Published 13 October 2026 · Updated 25 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Imagine flying across the Pacific Ocean for twelve hours and seeing nothing but a speck of land. This vast, mysterious expanse covers over seventy per cent of Earth. While most of the sea remains a mystery, a landmark documentary series spent five years capturing its hidden secrets.

A joint venture involving Discovery Channel and the BBC Natural History Unit, The Blue Planet debuted across the UK on 12 September 2001. Narrated by David Attenborough, the eight-part series was designed to be the first comprehensive look at the world's oceans. To achieve this, the production team spent nearly five years filming across almost 200 locations, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and the expertise of marine scientists worldwide.

The series pushed the boundaries of cinematography, capturing behaviors that were previously unknown to science. For instance, the crew spent three years on standby to locate blue whales in the Gulf of California using temporary radio tags. They also documented the 'sardine run' off the coast of Natal in South Africa, where predators like sharks and dolphins corral fish into 'bait balls.' In the deep ocean, special submersibles were used to reach the San Diego trench, where a 40-ton gray whale carcass was placed to attract scavengers.

Despite its status as a cultural export and a winner of numerous Emmy and BAFTA awards, the series faced scrutiny over its methods. About 2% of the footage featured breeding lobsters filmed in an aquarium in Wales, a choice the producers defended as an ethical necessity to avoid disturbing wild populations. The series' impact was so significant that in 2018, scientists named a newly-discovered species of phytoplankton, Syracosphaera azureaplaneta, in honor of the program.

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