Diving In: Kelp Forests And Ocean Conservation With Faine Loubser

Underwater Exploration With Faine Loubser

While kelp forests are ubiquitous in temperate coastal ecosystems around the world, putting in the work to educate and spread awareness about their importance is a case-by-case task. Forests of the Sea has teams of scientists and educators on the ground in communities across the globe in order to provide the support necessary to getting kelp on the policy agenda.

You're primarily exploring the Great African Seaforest, but where else is your work focused?

FL: “Kelp forests cover 28% of the world's coastlines, which is a significant amount. It's more than a quarter of the world's coastlines. So, it's kind of like, where are we not focusing more than where are we focusing? My home base is obviously the Great African Seaforest, which is here in Cape Town, but I've just come back from a trip in the Shetland Islands, which is up in the UK. And the whole of the UK is covered in kelp forests, so that's England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland—every single place has its own bit of forest.”

FL: “There are four ongoing projects which are happening around the world with Forests of the Sea. These are impact projects that are focused on bringing in policy in science. One is focused in South Africa, one is in Scotland—which is why I was partially up there in the Shetland Islands. Then two of the projects are in South America—one in Argentina and one in Chile. We're hoping to expand that slowly but surely. I mean, obviously we to try and get as much protection for these kelp forests as possible, but it's also super important to us that this happens not only organically, but in a way that is sustainable, and in a way that works with local communities, works with local organizations who really understand what the local climate is like. I guess Forests of the Sea is like a conduit supporting a lot of these local organizations that are already doing a lot of this groundwork.”

Turning Passion Into Art

Loubser’s innate love of freediving forged a passion for underwater photography and cinematography. This love has served as a foundation for her multimedia work, visual exhibitions, social media campaigns, and several film projects, but most notably Craig Foster’s Oscar-winning documentary, My Octopus Teacher, TIDAL, and AZILALI: THEY DO NOT SLEEP—her directorial debut.

When did you start freediving?

FL: “It's hard to trace a starting point for me in terms of free diving, mostly because my parents have always been deeply connected to the sea. I mean, I grew up swimming in the sea and, I think freediving, or snorkeling, or whatever you want to call it is like the natural progression. And I’ve done a bit of scuba diving, but I just don't find it anywhere near as enjoyable and freeing and totally liberating.”

What have been your favorite aspects of storytelling through photography?‍

FL: “Photography and cinematography hold an equal place in heart. I'm drawn to both. As cliché as it is, pictures or film can convey a lot more than words can describe in many cases. So you can describe the beauty of a kelp forest, but to actually see it is a totally different thing. And being able to give people that experience, especially given the fact that many people around the world will never get into a kelp forest themselves or don't have the privilege to because they don't know how to swim or whatever…I think that is the beauty—call it underwater photography or underwater cinematography—is that you’re able to give society a way to access this environment without necessarily having to be there…”

When you're freediving, how long do you typically stay underwater with a camera?

FL: “So when I'm filming, it's all freediving, so it's all in one breath. The longest I can hold my breath static on land with no camera, no movement, is four minutes and forty seconds. Underwater, it drops quite significantly because you're moving and because it's super cold, which really affects your ability to hold your breath. So I find myself maxing out at like a minute and a half. When I'm in warmer water, I can hold it longer, but cold water totally saps my oxygen. I'll dive for about an hour and a half to two hours—that's roaming around, going up and down, going up and down, going up and down. I spend as little time as possible up at the surface.”

How frequently are you diving right now?

FL: “Well, I try to get into the water every single day. And that could just be a swim, because diving is more dependent on conditions and quite honestly, they've been shocking since I've gotten back. But in principle, if I could dive every day I would, and I would make time for it. So then I do other things like surf or whatever, any day to connect with oceans is a reasonably good day for me.”

Learning To Live In The Moment

There may be trial and error involved, but Loubser and her colleagues are creating a legacy—creating new avenues of science and conservation communication that evoke real human emotion—awe, wonder, and appreciation for life beneath the waves.

Can you share a story of an emotional moment you’ve had in the water?

FL: “For me, one of the more recent moments was engagement with two otters. So these are not sea otters like in California, these are terrestrial or river otters, but they’ve adapted to coastal living in Cape Town. I saw these two otters come out of the water, each with a fish, and they sat on these rocks in front of me, and ate them. This is super rare—you hardly ever encounter them, especially in the day. They’re super elusive creatures. So I changed as quickly as possible, got into the water and slowly approached them...Eventually I was within half a meter from them, watching them finish off these fish. And then they both got into the water and I had this thick kelp forest around me, so I couldn't actually see down below me, it was just kelp. And all of a sudden I just felt this tug on my feet and then a tug on my leg and then a touch on my belly. I dove down, and these two otters were just swimming around me, coming up to me, touching my feet, touching my leg, touching my body. I swam into a sort of more open area and just had this most incredible engagement with these two otters. I didn't have my camera with me, it was in the car. I was in two minds—as someone who wants to film and capture these amazing experiences, but at the same time, I don't want to ruin any kind of in-person experience I could be having. And so I actually just let that go and had this amazing time, at least ten minutes with these otters."

FL: “I got out kind of awestruck at the friendliness of these otters and the playfulness and the willingness to engage with this human. For me that experience was amazing, and something that I'll always treasure.”

Luckily, Loubser still ended up getting some footage of her new friends—she’d gotten out of the water and was preparing to dry off and head home when the otters came back. She quickly grabbed her camera and dove back in, capturing the magical moment. Filming content like this is a perfect example of the power of her work—a visual demonstration of an incredibly rare interaction with nature offers an awe-inspiring example of the beauty of the world’s coastal marine ecosystems for her audience, many of which might never have the same experience.

Be it exploring international kelp forests or filming marine wildlife, Faine Loubser is indeed diving headfirst into impactful marine conservation, fearlessly leading the way for a new generation of ocean explorers, environmental activists, and storytellers both in and out of the water.